5G Thinking and Development: 5G development is just in time

Mobile communication technology advances every ten years. Currently, the global mobile communication network is transitioning from 4G to 5G. my country is at the forefront of the world in deploying 5G networks and promoting the innovative development of 5G applications. This is an appropriate decision to meet the needs of national and industrial development.

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First of all, using 5G to expand economic development space is a current national strategic development need.

At present, my country has entered a new stage of promoting economic development with technological innovation. 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. 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, and through years of technological catch-up and capital accumulation, my country already has the ability and foundation to do so.

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 business forms and become a new driving force for economic growth, but also likely to empower all areas 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, it is expected that by 2025, 5G will 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.

At present, my country is one of the important leaders of 5G technology standards and has advantages in equipment, networks and applications. The global commercialization of 5G in 2019, the simultaneous deployment of 5G networks and the exploration of 5G application development will help transform my country's leading technological innovation advantages into market innovation advantages, and accumulate experience in building new industries and new ecosystems using technological innovation in the process. This experience will be invaluable for my country's future long-term development.

Of course, as a global pioneer, using 5G innovation to expand market space will inevitably face more risks and investments. In the 3G/4G period, my country, as a follower in the field of mobile communications, developed mobile Internet, reduced the investment in cultivating commercial equipment and mature networks, reduced the risk of market volatility, and achieved great success. However, looking at other developed economies, as leaders in global 3G/4G innovation, although they have assumed greater risks and costs for innovation, they have also gained greater benefits, including determining the status of product and application standards, opportunities to establish an industrial ecosystem, opportunities to choose the best global market, opportunities to establish industry barriers, and so on. Risks and benefits are proportional. Today's internal and external development environment has made it urgent for my country to participate in the competition of cutting-edge technologies and markets, so it is necessary to promote 5G business exploration and innovation.

Secondly, the growth of mobile user traffic has driven network expansion, and the evolution of mobile networks to 5G is a natural progression.

In recent years, with the decline in mobile traffic charges and the enrichment of mobile Internet applications, the traffic of mobile users has continued to grow. The COVID-19 pandemic and the new lifestyle of "staying at home" have further increased the demand for mobile Internet applications. High-traffic application scenarios such as short videos, live broadcasts, online video education, and online conferences have become mainstream applications for user consumption, driving the rapid growth of mobile Internet traffic. 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, which is 13.6 times the average monthly traffic per user in 2016. With the growth of 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.

Under this trend, the existing 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, 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. But overall, the current construction of 5G networks is more advantageous both in terms of short-term investment and long-term development.

Finally, the process of digital transformation of the economy and society is accelerating, which requires support from 5G infrastructure.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant negative impacts to the economy and society, it has also accelerated the process of digital transformation in various fields, allowing 5G+ to be integrated into thousands of industries more quickly. On the one hand, epidemic prevention and control has made more entrepreneurs and managers realize the value of digitalization and the necessity of investment. According to a survey report from Tsinghua University, more than 53% of companies are willing to undergo digital transformation after the epidemic, far exceeding the past. On the other hand, the epidemic has stimulated the demand for 5G applications. During the epidemic, the "stay-at-home" economy developed rapidly, and applications such as 5G+ high-definition video, 5G+ telemedicine, and 5G+ smart prevention and control have greatly improved the efficiency of epidemic prevention. The epidemic has stimulated the public's demand for larger capacity and faster speed information and communication, making the application scenarios of 5G clearer and more feasible. In the past year, 5G industry applications have been explored in many fields. At present, it has gradually gained industry recognition in 10 fields such as factories, mines, ports, medical care, power grids, transportation, security, education, cultural tourism and smart cities, and has initially formed application scenarios that are expected to be commercialized on a large scale.

In summary, 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 should adhere to the principle of moderate advancement, match the development path and rhythm of applications, continuously optimize network construction strategies, operation strategies and policy environment, and continuously reduce the deployment and operation costs of the entire network to support the cultivation of applications at the lowest possible cost.