5G leads the new infrastructure, and network construction is ahead - Analysis of my country's 5G network construction

2020 is a critical year for the large-scale construction of 5G networks in my country. Although the COVID-19 outbreak has had a certain impact on the construction of 5G networks, it has also accelerated the implementation of a number of 5G applications. At the same time, my country attaches more importance to the construction of new infrastructure such as 5G, and accelerates the promotion of 5G to play a positive role in improving quality and efficiency in the transformation and development of various industries. Recently, the central government has held several meetings to emphasize the importance of new infrastructure construction. On March 4, the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee clearly proposed to accelerate the construction of new infrastructure such as 5G networks and data centers. This series of meetings reflects that the national level attaches more importance to the positioning and development of 5G, especially the construction of 5G networks. Only by accelerating the construction of 5G networks can we effectively offset the impact of the epidemic, stabilize economic growth, lead the construction of new infrastructure, and truly promote 5G to become a new engine for promoting high-quality economic and social development.

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1. The first year of 5G commercialization has laid a good foundation for "new infrastructure"

2019 is the first year of 5G commercial development in my country. As various regions pay more attention to the construction of 5G base stations, governments at all levels across the country have taken the 5G development plan as a starting point and introduced relevant policies to lay a good foundation for the "new infrastructure."

In general, in terms of the number of base stations, coverage, and commercial progress, the eastern coastal areas are ahead of the inland areas, and the south is ahead of the north. As of the end of 2019, a total of 31 provinces in the country have actively carried out 5G network construction (excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan), and 22 provinces have publicly released the number of base station construction, with about 140,000 5G base stations built. Among them, Guangdong ranks first in the country in terms of the number of base stations, exceeding 30,000; the number of base stations in Beijing, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Hubei, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Chongqing all exceed 10,000.

Figure 1 Distribution of 5G base stations by province nationwide (as of the end of December 2019)

2. Basic telecommunications companies speed up 5G network construction and comprehensively promote the implementation of "new infrastructure" investment

2020 is a critical year for the large-scale construction of 5G networks. In order to alleviate the impact of the epidemic on 5G network construction, stabilize 5G development, and better support and ensure the smooth operation of the economy, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology held a special meeting to accelerate the development of 5G. At the meeting, China Mobile stated that it is currently actively promoting the resumption of work and production in 5G construction, and the goal of building 300,000 5G base stations by the end of this year remains unchanged. China Unicom and China Telecom will strive to complete the annual target of 250,000 base station construction in the first three quarters. The three major operators will build a total of 550,000 5G base stations this year. At the same time, China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom, China Radio and Television, and China Tower proposed a 2020 development plan around 5G networks, applications, industries, etc.

Table 1 5G strategic plans of the four major operators and China Tower in 2020

3. 5G leads the "new infrastructure" and its role in enabling industry development has become apparent

5G has played a positive role in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic. According to the monitoring and analysis of the Radio Research Center of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, 5G network coverage has been completed in key epidemic prevention areas in many provinces across the country. Governments at all levels, industrial enterprises, hospitals, schools and other institutions are actively promoting the implementation of applications under the protection of 5G networks. The application areas involve smart medical care, news media, smart education, industrial Internet and other aspects. Zhejiang, Guangdong, Anhui and other provinces have enabled 5G+ thermal imaging technology, Beijing, Henan, Jiangsu and other provinces have actively carried out 5G+ smart education, and Hubei, Sichuan, Hainan and other provinces have made full use of 5G+ smart medical care.

As an important part of the construction of new infrastructure, 5G plays a vital role in accelerating the integrated applications of artificial intelligence, industrial Internet, Internet of Things, etc. The development of 5G requires the support of network infrastructure. Only places with fast network construction and wide coverage can seize the initiative in the context of new infrastructure. In the future, local governments will lead the new infrastructure through 5G, give play to the driving role of 5G in new infrastructure and related industries, further expand new space for innovation and entrepreneurship, accelerate economic transformation and upgrading, and provide strong guarantees for promoting high-quality economic and social development.

The Radio Research Center is one of the core business units of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. The center focuses on enabling the development of industrial Internet with wireless technology, covering radio management, 5G, industrial Internet, Internet of Things and other fields. It conducts in-depth research on management policies, technologies, industries and applications, infrastructure and spectrum planning, and provides decision-making consulting, planning, testing and evaluation, and industrial services to governments, industries and enterprises, and cooperates to build an industrial ecosystem. At present, our center has carried out continuous monitoring of my country's 5G industry, applications, networks, public opinion, projects, policies and other fields, and built a 5G application warehouse to help local 5G high-quality development.