In the 5G era, smart services will become the new normal

More than a year after its official commercial launch, 5G is gradually turning people's imagination of future information life into reality. What does it mean to consumers? What are the development trends of 5G consumption?

Recently, Fang Aiqing, deputy director of the Economic Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and former member of the Party Leadership Group and vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce, accepted an exclusive interview with a Science and Technology Daily reporter and conducted an in-depth discussion on these topics.

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Moderately ahead of the times, layout of 5G network infrastructure

"In the past year since 5G was commercialized, China's 5G industry has developed steadily and rapidly, creating a series of world-leading innovations." Fang Aiqing commented when talking about the current development trend of 5G.

He gave an example, saying that this year, China built and opened the world's highest 5G base station, bringing 5G signals to Mount Everest; not only that, the 5G network was opened in a coal mine more than 500 meters underground, setting a record for the deepest underground 5G network.

Fang Aiqing introduced that China currently has the world's largest and most widely covered 5G network, with 700,000 5G base stations, accounting for nearly 70% of the world's total, and connecting more than 180 million terminals.

"Based on a huge network, my country has vigorously promoted the application of 5G in the industrial field, truly enabling the development of 5G to promote the development of the industrial Internet and accelerate the process of new industrialization." Fang Aiqing also observed that 5G technology has begun to enter the service industry and is increasingly affecting our daily lives.

"Of course, it is a general consensus in the industry that the actual application scenarios of 5G technology are still significantly lagging behind technology development and infrastructure construction. It is also an indisputable fact that the lack of core applications leads to high operating costs and difficulty in cost recovery," Fang Aiqing pointed out.

However, he believes that on the basis of continuous advancement of technological development, it is more strategically valuable to moderately advance the construction of 5G network infrastructure, promote the steady development of the industry, and drive application development through network construction.

In the consumer sector, 5G will be within reach

Regarding the commercial trend of 5G, Fang Aiqing believes that, in general, 5G commercialization will develop rapidly in industries with high technical content, high labor costs, high operational risks, and high cross-border integration.

Fang Aiqing gave an example, saying that the circulation industry used to rely heavily on manpower to manage warehousing, sorting, and delivery. In the 5G era, a large number of smart warehousing, unmanned distribution sites, and even smart logistics bases have emerged. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, new applications such as "5G+unmanned epidemic prevention vehicles" have emerged.

"For ordinary consumers, 5G will be within reach." Fang Aiqing introduced that data showed that as of the end of August, the number of 5G users nationwide had exceeded 110 million. From January to July this year, the cumulative shipments of 5G mobile phones nationwide were 77.508 million units, accounting for 44.2% of the total mobile phone shipments in the same period. 5G terminals are dazzling, the product gradient is gradually complete, and prices will continue to fall.

Fang Aiqing believes that on this basis, 5G technology will change consumers' lives in two aspects: on the one hand, there will be no connection delay and free choice of consumption scenarios; on the other hand, machines will replace manual labor and intelligent services will become the norm.

"With the maturity and implementation of 5G technology, a wealth of life service products will be born behind terms such as smart home, smart elderly care, smart baby care, smart transportation, and smart logistics." Fang Aiqing said that smart services will become the new normal in daily life.

5G consumption will show several major trends

What development trend will 5G consumption show in the future? Fang Aiqing outlined several major directions.

"After the advent of the 5G era, the widespread application of virtual reality and augmented reality technologies will give consumers the opportunity to experience product effects in advance. With the continuous development of technology, the categories of products that can be experienced online will continue to be enriched and expanded." In Fang Aiqing's view, new technologies complement the enjoyment of traditional "shopping" and will achieve a comprehensive upgrade of the consumer experience.

In addition, Fang Aiqing analyzed that the support of 5G technology has broken many limitations of online shopping, and the categories of products and services that can be consumed online will be very rich. In the 5G era, the products that people can consume are experiencing a comprehensive explosion.

From the perspective of the convenience of consumption, Fang Aiqing mentioned that with the popularization of 5G data technology and network transmission, VR (virtual reality) house viewing can effectively guarantee "truth" and "speed". He believes that similar examples or more innovative forms will become more popular and abundant in all walks of life, and 5G technology will bring more convenience to our lives.

The personalized consumption sector will benefit even more from 5G technology. "With the data security provided by the 5G network, consumers can bypass the current cumbersome procedures and order products through the corresponding online portals. Orders and product requirements are generated simultaneously in the marketing and production systems." Fang Aiqing pointed out that based on 5G network technology, it will be possible for consumers to directly connect to the industrial Internet and directly connect with the factory production process through the merchant's platform.