my country's 5G terminal connections exceed 200 million and will conduct 6G vision research

2019 was the first year of 5G commercialization in China, and 2020 is a key year for the accelerated promotion of 5G commercialization. Although the construction and deployment of 5G were delayed in the first half of this year due to the impact of the epidemic, various regions in China have successively introduced a number of policies since the second half of the year to accelerate the construction of 5G facilities, and many places have completed the annual 5G base station construction and opening targets ahead of schedule.

[[360413]]

According to Liu Liehong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, my country has built a total of 718,000 5G base stations, and the scale of 5G networks ranks first in the world. Recently, at a press conference of the State Council, Wen Ku, spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and director of the Information and Communications Development Department, also gave a detailed introduction to my country's 5G construction and development this year.

Wen Ku said that my country has achieved 5G network coverage in all cities and counties, completing the set goal. In terms of 5G terminals, 144 million 5G mobile phones were shipped in the domestic market from January to November, and a total of 199 new mobile phone models were launched, accounting for about half of all mobile phones. In addition, the number of users in my country is growing very fast, and the number of 5G terminal connections has exceeded 200 million.

5G applications have also made rapid progress in 2020. 5G has demonstrated unexpectedly good results in hot areas such as smart manufacturing, medical care, and energy. The application model in multiple scenarios such as mines, ports, and manufacturing has become increasingly clear, and can be copied and replicated to other industries for application. Under such circumstances, my country's 5G development in 2021 will strive to achieve a good 5G ecosystem with good construction, application, and development.

First, we must coordinate deployment and promote information infrastructure construction. In accordance with the principle of moderate advancement, we must firmly promote 5G network construction. On the basis of 5G networks reaching a certain scale, we must advance from large-scale construction and wide coverage to on-demand construction and deep coverage, closely follow the needs of different scenarios, and build a high-quality 5G network.

Second, we should give full play to the catalytic role of 5G solution providers, promote collaboration among all parties, jointly promote the integrated development of 5G with various fields of the real economy such as manufacturing, energy, transportation, and agriculture, and accelerate the digitalization, networking, and intelligent transformation of traditional industries.

Third, we need to strengthen technological innovation, continue to promote 5G technology research and development trials, accelerate the maturity of technical products such as network slicing, edge computing, chip modules, and instrumentation, enhance the basic support capabilities of the industry, increase the intensity of millimeter wave trials, and promote the maturity of millimeter wave products. Accelerate the mature application of the R16 standard, and at the same time promote the continuous evolution of the subsequent R17 and R18 standards.

In addition, we must look to the future, carry out 6G vision research, and promote the sustainable development of the mobile communications industry.

Of course, the realization of the above 5G goals cannot be achieved without the full participation of local governments, industries, and enterprises. Especially at the local government level, local governments have fully supported the development and commercialization of 5G, but there is still a gap in promoting the implementation of 5G applications. Next, local governments need to combine local economic and industrial realities, give full play to existing advantages, and reasonably and appropriately promote the construction of 5G industries and the innovation and application of 5G technologies.

At the national level, in order to promote the commercial use of 5G, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently issued 5G frequency licenses to China's three major operators, China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom, and allowed some 4G frequencies to be used for 5G. With the strong support of all parties, my country's 5G development is expected to accelerate further in 2021, and make new breakthroughs in 5G applications.

Industry experts believe that my country's 5G construction and deployment will continue to advance rapidly in the next three years, gradually achieving network coverage in a wider area and solving various problems in practical applications. At the same time, the accelerated implementation of 5G commercialization will usher in rapid growth in the 5G-related market, which is expected to show a rapid expansion trend starting in 2022, with ultra-high-definition video, VR/AR, etc. becoming the main application scenarios.