The reality of "5G + Industrial Internet" still exists: people don't know how to use it, don't dare to use it, and can't afford it

"Industrial Internet" has been written into the government work report for the fourth consecutive year, from the first time in 2018 when "developing industrial Internet platforms" was written into the government work report, to "building industrial Internet platforms, expanding 'intelligence +', and empowering the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry" in 2019, and "developing industrial Internet and promoting intelligent manufacturing" in 2020. Then in 2021, "developing industrial Internet, building more common technology research and development platforms, and improving the innovation capabilities and professional level of small and medium-sized enterprises."

The industrial Internet is the main battlefield for 5G applications. Today, my country's "5G + Industrial Internet" has made a big step forward in the entire industrial ecosystem, whether in network support, integrated applications, terminal products, etc. However, practical problems such as "not knowing how to use, not daring to use, and not being able to afford it" still exist.

The next three years will be a period of rapid growth for the Industrial Internet

The next three years will be a period of rapid growth for the Industrial Internet. To this end, at the beginning of 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Industrial Internet Innovation and Development Action Plan (2021-2023)", which established the development goals of my country's Industrial Internet in the next three years: by 2023, the new infrastructure will be further improved, the results of integrated applications will be further demonstrated, the technological innovation capabilities will be further enhanced, the industrial development ecosystem will be further improved, and the security assurance capabilities will be further enhanced. The construction of the new infrastructure of the Industrial Internet will advance both in quantity and quality, new models and new formats will be widely promoted, and the comprehensive strength of the industry will be significantly improved.

On March 15, 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology held a cadre meeting, which required: vigorously develop the industrial Internet, promote the integration of industrial chains and innovation chains, build more common technology research and development platforms, increase the construction of 5G networks and gigabit optical networks, and enrich application scenarios.

Liu Liehong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, pointed out that in the new year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will work with relevant departments and localities to continue to strengthen guidance and support, create a better industrial development environment, and strive to create a new situation for the development of the industrial Internet: First, strengthen infrastructure construction. Promote the construction and transformation of internal and external networks and the large-scale application of identity resolution. Deepen the integrated development of "5G + Industrial Internet". Accelerate the construction of professional platforms, characteristic platforms, and cross-industry and cross-field platforms. Second, continue to deepen integrated applications. Closely combine industrial Internet technologies and models with the production practices, industry characteristics, knowledge and experience of various industries, create a number of typical cases of integrated applications, and drive the formation of a systematic promotion model. Third, consolidate the foundation of industrial development. Focus on core technologies and capabilities, continue to organize and implement innovative development projects, strengthen technical research and development of key products, and help the industry make up for shortcomings and forge strengths. Fourth, cultivate and expand the industrial ecology. Actively coordinate resources and forces from all parties to promote the formation of an industrial ecology with diversified subjects and collaborative innovation, and play a good "team game". Encourage local governments to explore development models with their own characteristics based on local realities. Fifth, improve the level of security. We will give equal importance to development and security, implement main responsibilities, improve the construction of network security classification and grading management system, increase investment in network security, and strengthen network security technical monitoring.

The entire industrial ecosystem of "5G + Industrial Internet" has taken a big step forward

According to Xiao Yaqing, Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, "5G + Industrial Internet" is developing rapidly, with more than 1,100 projects under construction across the country, including many very good application scenarios. For example, Shanghai's Commercial Aircraft Corporation, Shanxi's Yangquan Coal Mine, Hunan Sany Heavy Industry and Xiamen Port all have many good 5G practical application scenarios.

Wang Zhiqin, deputy director of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, pointed out that "5G + Industrial Internet" has made a big step forward in integrated applications, network construction, terminals, industrial ecology, and standards.

First, the pace of integrated application practice has accelerated. At present, "5G + Industrial Internet" has penetrated from auxiliary links to core production links, and the application types have developed from large bandwidth-dominated to multi-type directions. Typical application scenarios have gradually formed, and the results of improving quality, increasing efficiency and reducing costs have begun to show. The ten major application scenarios are industrial design, auxiliary assembly, equipment collaboration, precise control, visual inspection, data collection, remote maintenance, intelligent logistics, unmanned inspection and safety monitoring.

Secondly, the network construction model is gradually becoming clear. Previously, in November 2020, when the national 5G base station construction was counted as 700,000, there were 32,000 5G base stations used in the industrial Internet. "The network construction model based on user-side sinking is the first choice for large industrial enterprises, and the 5G local area private network based on user-side sinking is the mainstream." Wang Zhiqin said, "The main applicable scenarios are large manufacturing enterprises, ports, coal funds, etc. In this model, UPF/MEC is deployed within the enterprise, which can ensure low network latency, enterprise business data does not leave the park, and data privacy and security are guaranteed. Another model is a 5G wide-area private network based on the public network. It uses 5G slicing technology to form an end-to-end 'slice sub-network', which is suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises. The third model is a 5G local area private network based on exclusive resources. This model requires the authorization of 5G private network frequency bands, and industrial enterprises build their own private networks. Currently, there is little exploration.

Third, terminal products are gradually emerging. "5G + Industrial Internet" involves many aspects such as network upgrading and transformation, integrated product development, etc., which will drive the development of a batch of new industrial integrated terminals and cultivate a batch of new solution providers. As of November 2020, a total of 21 industrial-grade CPE devices have been released worldwide, and a batch of integrated terminal products such as AGV, drones, and MES terminals with 5G communication capabilities have emerged in my country.

Fourth, the industrial ecosystem continues to grow. Basic telecommunications companies and industrial enterprises are accelerating their connection. Currently, there are more than 1,100 "5G + Industrial Internet" projects under construction. The integration of IT and CT is accelerating. Internet giants are entering the 5G infrastructure market with cloud and edge computing. They are new entrants into the core network. For example, Alibaba and Zhejiang Unicom have completed the full coverage of the 5G lightweight independent core network of Ningbo Zhoushan Port; Tencent has established a 5G edge computing "integrated center" at its Binhai headquarters, which can support the deployment of industry-specific networks.

Fifth, the integration of the standard system is progressing steadily. According to Wang Zhiqin, my country is formulating the framework of the "5G + Industrial Internet" standard system and developing a number of industry standards. "It is expected that 8 "5G + Industrial Internet" application scenarios and technical requirements will be established in 2021-2022."

Problems such as “not knowing how to use, not daring to use, and not being able to afford it” still exist

Although the development has achieved phased results, the industry still faces challenges in its early stages. Wang Zhiqin said that realistic problems such as "not knowing how to use, not daring to use, and not being able to afford" still exist. "Industrial applications need to be further explored, the technical foundation needs to be further consolidated, and the development environment needs to be further improved, especially the huge initial investment in R&D and construction, insufficient industrial support capabilities such as modules, and an open and integrated ecosystem has not yet been established. In addition, my country's 5G standards have not yet been completely frozen, my country's overall industrial informatization foundation is also poor, and support capabilities are relatively weak. There is still a large gap in the mastery of core technologies, key product service performance, solution supply, and application depth."

According to Wang Zhiqin, the next step in developing "5G + Industrial Internet" will focus on four aspects:

First, we will strengthen the construction of 5G infrastructure, including upgrading and renovating 5G intranets in enterprises, building 5G networks in industrial parks, and building 5G networks in pilot areas and demonstration areas.

Second, continue to explore integrated application innovation. Strengthen the exploration of integrated application in core production links, accelerate the innovative exploration of business models, and promote the promotion and application of replicable cases.

Third, we will focus on enhancing the industry's supply capacity, increase the effective supply of solutions, and accelerate the research and development and industrialization of chips, modules, and industrial terminals.

Fourth, optimize the environment for industrial innovation and development, including the construction of public service platforms, project library resource pools, standard systems, patents, and test beds.