5G will soon be available to ordinary people

Currently, 5G has become a hot topic in the industry, and all parties in the industry are scrambling to stake out their territory and actively deploy 5G. At the recently held third China International Import Expo, 2020 Tianyi Smart Ecosystem Expo and other grand events, 5G has also become the most eye-catching highlight.

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5G has the characteristics of high speed, large connection, high reliability, and low latency. It can provide services for the intelligent connection of all things. It has been given the mission of "changing society" by the industry and is expected to bring profound changes to the entire society. Often, the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility, and the greater the responsibility, the greater the doubt. New things often face doubts during their birth and promotion periods. Recently, the practice of some operators to "tighten 4G and promote 5G" has caused heated discussions in the industry, and the problem of 5G charges being too expensive has been criticized.

Counting the many issues raised by the industry, 5G is criticized the most in the following aspects: limited network coverage, expensive terminals, expensive packages, and lack of killer applications. Fortunately, with the joint efforts of the industry, these issues criticized by 5G are gradually being resolved. From the perspective of development scale, development speed, and application types, the development of 5G is still very commendable.

In terms of network coverage, 5G has become the fastest-deployed generation of wireless communication technology in history. In the 18 months since the launch of the first 5G commercial network, more than 95 operators around the world have launched 5G commercial network services in more than 40 countries and regions. In contrast, in the first 18 months of LTE commercial deployment, less than 15 operators in only 13 countries and regions launched 4G commercial networks. From the perspective of my country's construction and coverage, as of the end of September this year, the cumulative number of 5G base stations built in China has reached 690,000, and the cumulative number of terminal connections has exceeded 160 million. The industry predicts that the number of global 5G connections will exceed 1 billion in 2023, which is two years faster than the speed of obtaining the same number of connections in the 4G era.

From the perspective of terminals, generally in the first year of global commercial use of new generation communication technology, only a few manufacturers will produce terminals, and most manufacturers will usually wait and see for a while. But in the 5G era, especially in the Chinese market, almost all manufacturers are very actively embracing 5G. Currently, 207 5G terminals have obtained network access licenses, including 180 5G mobile phones. The proportion of 5G mobile phones in the domestic mobile phone market shipments continues to rise. In the past two months, the proportion of newly launched 5G mobile phones has reached nearly 80%.

What is even more exciting for the industry is that in 2010, there was only one Chinese company among the top ten smartphone manufacturers in the world, but now there are seven Chinese companies among the top ten mobile phone manufacturers in the world. Chinese mobile phone brands have become the first camp of 5G commercial terminals. After the official launch of Apple iPhone 12 this year, all major mobile phone manufacturers in the world have turned on the 5G mode, and 5G mobile phones are becoming the undisputed main force in the 5G consumer market.

In terms of price, many 5G mobile phones are already below 2,000 yuan, whether they are excellent flagship phones, mid-to-high-end phones, or mid-to-low-end phones. They are being updated at a very fast speed. Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo have already released 5G mobile phones in almost all price ranges.

From the perspective of 5G packages, the current minimum price of 5G packages is basically not less than 128 yuan, which is indeed a bit high relative to the average tariff level, but it is certain that with the gradual increase in users and the release of economies of scale, the price of 5G packages will become cheaper and cheaper. Previously, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology made it clear that it would continue to promote the reduction of package traffic tariffs and thereby stimulate the 5G consumer market. At a time when 5G construction is in full swing, just as 2G and 3G packages will gradually withdraw from the stage of history, 4G packages will become less and less in the future, and 5G packages will inevitably occupy the mainstream. However, during the period of switching from 4G to 5G, the practice of telecom operators in some regions to directly remove 4G packages from the shelves is indeed relatively hasty. After all, less than one-tenth of users actually own 5G mobile phones. During the transition period from 4G to 5G, operators need to give consumers a buffer period.

From the application point of view, many 5G applications are emerging in an endless stream, and they are no longer "heard but difficult to touch". For example, China Mobile and Hunan Valin Xianggang have built the first cross-border 5G+AR remote assembly system; in cooperation with Huawei and other partners, the country's first underground 5G smart coal mine was built in Shanxi Xinyuan Coal Mine; in cooperation with COSCO Shipping and Dongfeng Motor, the country's first 5G full-scenario smart port was launched at Xiamen Yuanhai Terminal in Fujian; in cooperation with Zhejiang Aikodi Company, a full 5G flexible factory was built... At the 2020 China Mobile Global Partner Conference held from November 19 to 21, visitors can also experience many 5G innovative applications in person.

It is true that 5G still faces some shortcomings and there are some problems to be solved, but I believe that with the joint efforts of the industry, 5G will not be far away from being available to ordinary people.