Expert: It’s time to promote 5G application innovation

Wang Zhiqin, deputy director of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, and other experts said in an interview with reporters recently that my country is at the forefront of the world in deploying 5G networks and promoting the innovative development of 5G applications, which is an appropriate decision to meet the needs of national and industrial development.

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The "14th Five-Year Plan" outline emphasizes that we must persist in deepening supply-side structural reforms, and lead and create new demand with innovation-driven, high-quality supply. Wang Zhiqin analyzed that in order to ensure high-quality and sustainable economic development, my country needs to expand the space for economic growth through cutting-edge technological innovation. Through years of technological catch-up and capital accumulation, my country has already acquired such capabilities and foundations.

Wang Zhiqin said that at this stage, building a 5G network to explore and expand the space for economic growth is the best choice. 5G is one of the core key technologies in the new round of scientific and industrial revolution. It will be integrated with technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. It is not only likely to form a series of new formats and become a new driving force for economic growth, but also to empower various fields of the economy and society, bringing revolutionary changes to the economic and even social forms. According to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, by 2025, 5G is expected to drive telecom operators' network investment of about 1.2 trillion yuan; the cumulative scale of information consumption will exceed 8.3 trillion yuan; and the cumulative direct economic output will be about 10.1 trillion yuan.

Wei Liurong, an expert from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, said that my country is currently one of the important leaders of 5G technology standards and has advantages in equipment, networks and applications. Deploying 5G networks in sync with the world and exploring the development of 5G applications will help transform my country's leading technological innovation advantages into market innovation advantages, and in the process accumulate experience in using technological innovation to build new industries and new ecosystems.

Experts analyzed that the growth of mobile user traffic has promoted network expansion, and the evolution of mobile networks to 5G is a natural trend. In recent years, with the decline in mobile traffic charges and the enrichment of mobile Internet applications, mobile user traffic has continued to grow. In 2020, my country's mobile Internet access traffic increased by 35.7% over the previous year, and the average monthly mobile Internet traffic per user (DOU) reached 10.35GB/user/month throughout the year, an increase of 32% over the previous year, and 13.6 times the average monthly traffic per user in 2016. With the increase in user traffic, the utilization rate of 4G networks in hot spots in some first-tier cities has reached 90% during peak periods, affecting user experience. The continuous increase in mobile user data traffic has made it difficult for my country's original network to support the business needs of many users, and there is an urgent need for a network that can carry a larger capacity.

Wang Zhiqin analyzed that under this trend, the original mobile network urgently needs to be upgraded and expanded, and the evolution to 5G network is the general trend. my country's 5G adopts medium and low frequency band networking, and 5G and 4G base stations basically achieve the same site, that is to say, the number of 5G base stations is basically the same as 4G. The capacity of a single 5G base station is more than 10 times that of a 4G base station, and the price is about 2 times. This means that the cost-effectiveness of 5G base station construction is more than 5 times that of 4G. Of course, the 5G network also faces problems such as high energy consumption of base stations and the need for network optimization. However, whether from the perspective of short-term investment or long-term perspective, it is more advantageous to build a 5G network at present.

Finally, the process of digital transformation of the economy and society is accelerating, and 5G infrastructure is needed to support it. A survey report from Tsinghua University shows that the proportion of companies willing to undergo digital transformation after the epidemic is over 53%, far exceeding the past. In addition, the epidemic has stimulated the demand for 5G applications. During the epidemic, applications such as 5G+ high-definition video, 5G+ telemedicine, and 5G+ smart prevention and control have greatly improved the efficiency of epidemic prevention. Wei Liurong introduced that in the past year, 5G industry applications have been explored in many fields, including factories, mines, ports, medical care, power grids, transportation, security, education, cultural tourism, and smart cities. 10 fields have gradually been recognized by the industry and have initially formed application scenarios that are expected to be commercially available on a large scale.

Judging from the evolution and development of global information technology and experience, as a global pioneer, using 5G innovation to expand market space will inevitably face more risks and investment. During the 3G/4G period, my country, as a follower in the field of mobile communications, developed mobile Internet, reduced investment in cultivating commercial equipment and network maturity, reduced the risks brought by market fluctuations, and achieved great success. However, looking at other developed economies, as leaders in global 3G/4G innovation, although they have borne greater risks and costs for innovation, they have also gained greater benefits, including determining the status of product and application standards, the opportunity to establish an industrial ecosystem, the opportunity to choose the best global market, the opportunity to establish industrial barriers, and so on.

"At present, accelerating the construction of 5G networks is in line with the needs of national, economic, social and industrial development. Of course, this does not mean that 5G network construction should be blindly rushed without considering the input-output ratio. my country's 5G network must adhere to the principle of moderate advancement, match the development path and rhythm of applications, continuously optimize network construction strategies, operating strategies and policy environments, and continuously reduce the deployment and operating costs of the entire network, so as to support the cultivation of applications at the lowest possible cost." Wang Zhiqin said.