Liu Yulin from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: Gigabit optical network is the supporting base of new infrastructure

On March 29, at the "Gigabit Optical Network to Promote New Growth of Digital Economy" theme forum held today, Liu Yulin, deputy director of the Information and Communications Development Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, delivered a speech. He said that my country has a good foundation for the development of gigabit optical networks in terms of network capabilities and user popularity. He also provided three suggestions on how to accelerate the development of gigabit optical networks.

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At present, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation represented by information and communication technology is rising rapidly around the world. Accelerating the development of a new generation of information infrastructure has become a strategic consensus among countries around the world. Gigabit optical networks have the characteristics of ultra-high bandwidth, ultra-low latency, advanced reliability, and green energy saving. They are an important component and supporting base of new infrastructure. They play an important role in driving effective investment and promoting emerging consumption, comprehensively helping my country's economy to flourish, and providing strong support for building a new development pattern.

The Party Central Committee and the State Council attach great importance to the construction and development of gigabit optical networks. The 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development and the Outline of the Long-Term Goals for 2035 clearly propose to promote and upgrade gigabit optical networks. The 2021 Government Work Report also clearly requires intensifying the construction of 5G networks and gigabit optical networks and enriching application scenarios. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology resolutely implements the relevant arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, and quickly issued the "Dual Gigabit Network Collaborative Development Plan (2021-2023)", proposing the goals, tasks and guarantee measures for the coordinated development of gigabit optical networks and 5G in my country in the next three years, and guiding all relevant parties to further build consensus and form synergy.

Liu Yulin pointed out that my country has a good foundation for developing gigabit optical networks. In terms of network capabilities, my country's fiber-optic network has fully covered urban and rural areas, and more than 300 prefecture-level cities have built optical network cities. Through the organization and implementation of 6 batches of telecommunications universal service pilots, the proportion of administrative villages with fiber-optic access has exceeded 99%, achieving the same network and speed in rural and urban areas. In terms of user penetration, my country's fixed broadband household penetration rate and mobile broadband penetration rate have significantly exceeded the goals of the 13th Five-Year Plan, and the proportion of fiber-optic access to households has reached 94%. "Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, my country's wide coverage of large-traffic infrastructure has ensured the smooth centralized access to the Internet under the concentrated outbreak of traffic, and has strongly supported the high-speed applications of remote office, online education, and telemedicine during the period of home isolation of the majority of people. It can be said that the high-level development of my country's broadband network has laid a solid foundation for accelerating the promotion of gigabit optical networks."

In addition, Liu Yulin also put forward three suggestions on how to accelerate the development of Gigabit optical networks:

First, we will take multiple measures to accelerate the construction and development of gigabit optical networks, actively promote the construction of gigabit cities, give play to the leading role of central cities, promote the improvement of the overall development level of gigabit optical networks in China, deepen the upgrading of rural infrastructure and information application, and gradually promote rural gigabit optical network coverage as needed, help consolidate and expand the effective connection between poverty alleviation and rural revitalization, enhance the interconnection of backbone transmission network data centers and the carrying capacity of various links of 5G bearer networks, continuously optimize the layout of application infrastructure such as data centers, deepen the joint construction and sharing of telecommunications infrastructure, improve the level of sharing of gigabit optical network infrastructure, and promote green and economical development.

The second is application innovation, focusing on empowering the gigabit optical network industry. Accelerate the innovation of gigabit optical network application models, encourage the use of multiple models such as sharing with the public network and end-to-end sharing with the public network in combination with industry needs, and flexibly carry out network construction and application. Through network architecture innovation and operation model innovation, better serve the development of the industry, deepen the application of gigabit optical networks in vertical industries such as manufacturing, transportation, medical care, education, and ports, complement the advantages of 5G, and jointly bring digital changes in production methods and business management to traditional enterprises, drive innovation and entrepreneurship in various fields such as industrial Internet, intelligent manufacturing, smart cities, and smart homes, and provide support for new speed and new momentum for enabling the digital transformation of the economy and society.

The third is to strengthen and supplement the supply chain and improve the industrial level of gigabit optical networks. Give full play to the leading role of leading enterprises, seize development opportunities, integrate various innovative resources, and accelerate the joint cooperation between upstream and downstream of the gigabit optical network industry. Increase research and development in ultra-high-speed optical fiber transmission, 50GPON, high-speed wireless LAN, etc., and achieve technological breakthroughs. Focus on weak links such as high-speed PON chips, high-speed wireless LAN chips, and high-speed optical modules, strengthen technical research, improve manufacturing capabilities and process levels, and consolidate the foundation for China's optical leadership and industrial development.

Finally, Liu Yulin said that the formation of a gigabit optical network development pattern with wide application and strong sustainability driven by innovation cannot be separated from blueprint planning, but also requires everyone's collective wisdom and practice. ‍‍It is hoped that the wisdom of the entire industry can be gathered to continuously promote the development of my country's gigabit optical network to achieve new results and help my country's digital economy to develop rapidly.