5G is here, where will the next explosion point of the Internet be?

In the long run, the goal is not to build 5G well, the key is to use it well.

[[264118]]

Because of this, as the pace of 5G commercialization continues to accelerate, new smart terminals will appear, new applications may be born, and the original life patterns may change, people are full of expectations for 5G.

Wen Ku, director of the Information and Communications Development Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, also said that 5G, as an important key infrastructure for the digital transformation of the economy and society, will have a profound impact on the consumer and production sectors.

Telecom operators have recently held cooperation conferences, all parties in the industry chain have frequently made plans in the field of 5G innovation, and first-tier cities have taken the lead in deploying 5G experimental networks, indicating that the 5G pre-commercial window period is approaching.

Behind this, 5G will also become a turning point in industrial development, supporting the transformation of traditional industries and helping emerging industries build core competitiveness. While the industry and people are looking forward to 5G applications, they are also curious about whether 5G will be the next Internet hot spot and who can grasp and respond to 5G opportunities.

How much expectation does 5G carry?

Since the beginning of this year, the global 5G development has been surging, and the pace of 5G commercialization has been accelerating.

In particular, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is currently promoting a 5G acceleration plan, including bringing more spectrum to the market, updating infrastructure policies, and revising outdated regulations, in order to promote the US's advantage in 5G technology. With the news that "Trump pointed out that by the end of this year, there will be 92 5G cities ready in the United States, surpassing South Korea's 48 cities", the industry predicts that countries that once hesitated about 5G may be affected and start to take action.

Whoever seizes the forefront of 5G technology will be able to lead the world trend for decades or even hundreds of years. my country's 5G development has always received much attention and support from policy to implementation.

From the Central Economic Work Conference at the end of last year that clearly pointed out that "the pace of 5G commercialization should be accelerated" to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's recent statement to accelerate the pace of 5G commercialization, from telecom operators accelerating their 5G layout, including China Telecom being the first among global operators to release a 5G technology white paper and achieve 5G SA high-definition voice calls, China Unicom announced the "7+33+n" 5G signal deployment plan and will open 5G trial networks in 40 cities in China, the three major operators continue to realize various 5G-based business applications, to more than a dozen Chinese-branded 5G mobile phones and several types of CPE (customer terminal equipment), all of which show that my country already has 5G commercial capabilities.

4G changes life, 5G changes society, and expectations are not only about technology and layout, but also about the Internet. Analysts believe that traffic has become the entrance to the Internet and mobile Internet in the 3G and 4G eras, and well-known Internet companies such as Tencent, Alibaba, and Apple have emerged; 5G's high speed, ubiquitous network, low power consumption, and low latency make the interconnection of all things even more desirable.

Huawei's previously released "White Paper on the Top Ten Application Scenarios in the 5G Era" also conducted a comprehensive assessment from the two dimensions of 5G technology relevance and market potential, and selected the top ten application scenarios with development prospects, including cloud VR/AR, Internet of Vehicles, smart manufacturing, smart energy, wireless medical care, wireless home entertainment, connected drones, social networks, personal AI assistance, smart cities, etc.

It is foreseeable that 5G applications will make "imagination insufficient". However, experts also pointed out that "as a technology, 5G should not be focused on itself, but on the capabilities it provides, its ability to connect with data."

Where is the explosion point of 5G?

Recall that websites exploded in the 2G era, social networking became popular in the 3G era, and videos increased dramatically in the 4G era. So what about the 5G era? Where is the demand? What is the value?

On the one hand, terminals and application scenarios are areas where ordinary users can feel 5G. Terminals such as new energy vehicles and smart homes, and application scenarios such as VR/AR, Internet of Vehicles, and telemedicine will bring users the most obvious 5G experience.

On the other hand, with the arrival of the 5G era, the Internet access will be broadened and will be more closely integrated with traditional industries, especially manufacturing.

It should be said that information and communication technology is no longer just used in the consumer market, but is also implemented in the digital transformation of the industrial manufacturing industry.

According to data from consulting firm ABI, the introduction of 5G into the industry can significantly promote the industry's digital transformation, increase productivity by 200%, reduce energy consumption by 30%, and extend equipment life by 30%.

To this end, leading Internet companies have adapted to the general trend of transformation and embraced 5G, which has been witnessed by all. For example, Tencent adjusted its organizational structure in 2018, announcing a strategic upgrade to embrace the industrial Internet, which will become a digital assistant for the transformation and upgrading of various industries. It merged the previous seven business groups into six business groups, and newly established two cloud and smart industry business groups (CSIG) and platform and content business groups (PCG). This is a typical manifestation of the gradual peak of the scale of Internet users and the transformation of consumer Internet to industrial Internet.

Li Dongsheng, chairman of TCL Corporation, also said that the high-speed Internet brought by 5G can even replace optical fiber, and one of the so-called "explosive points" of 5G in the future may be to become the receiving end. For example, taking the family as a unit, the 5G network can support the operation of the "smart home".

Wen Ku said that the 5G era is an era of integration. Industry, transportation, medical care, energy, smart cities, smart homes, etc. will all create new sparks with the integration of 5G.

The large-scale, high-performance network system will build a widely covered information highway. 5G has the characteristics of large bandwidth, low latency and large connections, and there will be more and better application scenarios in the future. 5G will be widely and deeply integrated with various fields of the economy and society, becoming a new engine for future economic transformation and growth.

In the long run, increasing 5G investment and promoting its sustainable development are in line with the long-term interests of the country, industry and enterprises. Relevant operators are working hard to formulate 5G investment plans, combining the development of the market and modern industries to actively and steadily develop 5G.

Who will benefit from 5G opportunities?

5G is a historic opportunity for the transformation of new and old driving forces, but it also faces the challenge of how to match new business models as industry barriers are gradually broken down.

Professor Lv Tingjie of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications believes that 5G development must seize the initiative. In this process, network infrastructure construction must be ahead of application development. The success of the business model is the criterion for judging the success of 5G. Therefore, it is necessary to mobilize the power of the whole society to innovate on the 5G network, and innovation cannot be a one-man show for operators. It is recommended to explore a new model for 5G investment and network construction through diversified investment and financing and "renting instead of building", and find leverage that is beneficial to operators, manufacturers, and financial institutions. This will not only solve the problems at the beginning of 5G development, but also open up a new path for future heavy asset investment in my country's information and communication industry.

Huawei's consumer business executive Yu Chengdong also said that in the 5G era, operators need to find new business models and rethink their charging models. Different levels of latency should be charged differently.

In addition, accelerating the integrated application of 5G, expanding the space for digital transformation with leading applications as the guide, and carrying out pilot demonstrations in key industries and key enterprises will help improve the maturity of 5G vertical industry integrated applications.

In short, building a 5G industry ecosystem is in line with the connotation of a strong network country and is also of great significance to promoting a strong manufacturing country. The 5G trend and opportunities will be left to companies that dare to innovate and are more efficient.