People's Daily Overseas Edition: "China's Internet Speed" Empowers Thousands of Industries

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As of the end of 2020, China has opened 718,000 5G base stations and the number of 5G mobile phone terminal connections has exceeded 200 million. The picture shows China Unicom's 5G technology booth at the Beijing International Fair for Trade in Services.

Photo by Fan Jiashan (People's Photo)

Employees of Anhui Gongxin Photonics Technology Co., Ltd. in Cihu National Hi-Tech Zone, Ma'anshan City, Anhui Province, are processing optical communication products for mobile 5G networks.

Photo by Wang Wensheng (People's Picture)

Recently, the Inner Mongolia 5G Industry Innovation Base was officially unveiled in the Horqin New District of Inner Mongolia, marking a new breakthrough in the gathering of 5G industry ecology and the promotion of 5G application innovation in Horqin New District. The picture shows citizens experiencing 5G cloud VR at the Inner Mongolia 5G Industry Innovation Base.

"Shopping" online, "visiting" museums online... The high-speed and convenient 5G network is changing people's lives. The "2021 China Mobile Economic Development Report" recently released by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) shows that China's 5G has grown strongly in 2020, becoming the world's largest 5G market. By the end of 2020, the number of 5G terminal connections in China had exceeded 200 million, accounting for 87% of the total number of 5G connections in the world. Experts said that as the 5G industry gradually matures, 5G will become a new engine for thousands of industries and promote high-quality economic development in the future.

High-speed "surfing" to enjoy a wonderful life

Enjoying the New Year's Eve dinner ordered online, visiting friends online, and sending New Year's greetings to relatives far away... According to statistics, more than 100 million people across the country chose to celebrate the Spring Festival in their hometowns during the Spring Festival holiday. Thanks to the "protection" of 5G networks, many people have started a new mode of "celebrating the festival online".

With the help of high-speed networks, many "New Year customs" have emerged. According to data released by Douyin, during the Spring Festival, the cumulative number of New Year greetings videos on Douyin exceeded 50.6 billion times. WeChat Video Account launched a live broadcast function, providing people with a new way to greet the New Year. For example, sending red envelopes with mobile phones has personalized covers. WeChat data shows that during the Spring Festival, the average WeChat user has 7.37 red envelope covers. The new gameplay combining WeChat red envelopes and video accounts has added a lot of new fun to the festival.

Businesses stay open during holidays, boosting the popularity of "cloud shopping". Many companies continue to provide online services to users. According to the Ministry of Commerce, during the Spring Festival holiday, the China UnionPay platform processed a total of 7.937 billion cross-institutional online payment transactions for funds, with an amount of 4.98 trillion yuan. The number of customers served by WeChat for Business in industries such as retail, training, finance, and catering is about 100 million. Among them, the "post-90s" and "post-00s" have become new online shopping experts. Data from the Dewu platform shows that national trend brands and Chinese-themed products have become the main choice for young people to give gifts. At the Tmall New Year Festival, the proportion of orders placed by the "post-90s" exceeded 60%.

Behind the wonderful and convenient life is the high-speed surge of digital "torrents". During the Spring Festival holiday, the national communication network was safe and smooth, and operated smoothly. According to data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the national mobile Internet traffic reached 3.573 million TB, an increase of 23.4% over the Spring Festival in 2020.

Stay at home and feel the "poetry and distance"

"Cloud travel" to scenic spots across the country, cloud exhibitions, cloud games... Thanks to the development of 5G, mobile digital technology, and blockchain technology, people can relax at home and enjoy "poetry and distant places."

The "Cloud Tour Dunhuang" applet recently launched the "Light Up Mogao Grottoes" function, which restored the folk custom of lighting lanterns in the Mogao Grottoes on the "cloud", and became popular in the circle of friends. Through mobile phones, users can "light up" the caves on the cliff together. As the number of people lighting up increases, the brightness of the lights in the picture also increases. In the middle of the night, users will see the "Milky Way" above the cliff of Mogao Grottoes and the light of the caves shining together, and experience the grand occasion of lighting lanterns in Mogao Grottoes thousands of years ago.

Stay at home to see the "Digital Forbidden City", stay at home to "cloud" tour Huangshan and Lijiang... More and more people are enjoying the mountains and rivers, scenic spots and historical sites of the motherland in the "cloud". With the promotion and application of new technologies such as 5G and 4K, "cloud exhibitions" and "cloud games" are gradually becoming a trend. The "Art" section of the Dewu platform was recently launched, covering different categories such as calligraphy and painting, sculptures, and ornaments. It aims to provide artists with a larger display platform through the Internet, allowing young consumers to watch trendy art exhibitions through their mobile phones.

Improving quality and efficiency, 5G has a "new speed"

Recently, many consumers have been pleasantly surprised to find that many products are available for pre-sale and personalized customization, and the logistics speed has achieved "order in the early morning and receive the goods in the morning". The greatly improved purchasing experience is based on the second-level analysis of billions of traffic by big data and the rapid development of "5G+digital factory".

Data shows that more than 2,300 companies across the country have launched more than 4,200 5G innovative application projects, and have actively explored various fields such as ports and mines. Last year, more than 100 million machines and equipment were connected, the CNC rate of key processes in enterprises exceeded 51.1%, and the added value of industrial digitalization accounted for more than 80% of the digital economy. On Baidu's Internet of Things platform, the number of device connections increased by more than 200% year-on-year.

In the new year, 5G has a "new speed". The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently announced that China will build more than 600,000 new 5G base stations this year in accordance with the principle of moderate advancement, complete 5G deep coverage in cities at prefecture level and above as soon as possible, and gradually accelerate the extension to counties and towns with conditions, and will continue to promote the research and development, construction and application of 5G networks.

Wang Zhiqin, deputy director of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, said that the deep integration of the new generation of information and communication technology and the production and manufacturing system is the key support for accelerating the digitalization, networking and intelligent development of various industries. In particular, the ultra-large bandwidth and ultra-low latency of the 5G network ensure millisecond-level transmission of massive data, making the integration effect more apparent.

The reporter learned that the quality of 5G services will be further improved this year. For example, through mobile phone applications, you can check the 5G network coverage in your area; improve the 5G package reminder mechanism; encourage operators to launch preferential tariff packages, etc.

Experts said that the key to accelerating the construction of 5G networks is to break through a series of difficulties and bottlenecks in the development of integrated applications. As the 5G industry gradually matures, 5G will further enter people's lives and empower thousands of industries.