According to a five-year plan unveiled by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China plans to have 26 5G base stations for every 10,000 people by the end of 2025, as the nation works hard to build a new digital infrastructure that is intelligent, green, safe and reliable.
The goal, based on an estimated national population, means that the nation aims to have about 3.64 million 5G base stations by the end of 2025. In comparison, in 2020, there were only five 5G base stations for every 10,000 people in China.
The overall goal proposed in a five-year plan for the information and communication industry is to basically build a high-speed, ubiquitous, smart, green, safe and reliable new digital infrastructure by 2025. The plan also proposed that the penetration rate of 5G users in China will increase from 15% in 2020 to 56% in 2021, and by then, 80% of China’s administrative villages will have 5G signal accessibility.
China so far has already built more than 1.15 million 5G base stations, accounting for more than 70% of the global total, and 5G network coverage has been achieved in urban areas of all prefecture-level cities, 97% of counties and 40% of rural towns across the country. The 5G mobile subscriber accounts in China, numbering some 450 million, make up over 80% of the global total.”
– Xie Cun, Director, Information and Communication Development
Widening the industrial use of 5G will also be a key focus for China. 5G has already been used in 22 industries. The application of 5G in industrial manufacturing, mining and ports is relatively mature, where 5G has been expanded from production assistance to core businesses such as equipment control and quality control. Meanwhile, a number of 5G-powered applications have also emerged in industries such as medical care, education and entertainment.
In the next step, China will work with other parties to focus on promoting 5G applications in 15 industries that target information consumption, the real economy and people’s livelihood services. China is likely to achieve several breakthroughs in 5G technological evolution, network construction and applications by 2025.
By the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), China will have built the world’s largest and most extensive stand-alone 5G network and basically achieve full network coverage in urban and rural areas. 5G is no longer for early adopters as it is improving people’s daily lives. This year is the first year with large-scale 5G industry applications. Operators will need new capabilities in network planning, deployment, maintenance, optimisation and operations, in order to achieve zero to one and replicate success from one to many.
China has applied 5G technology in various areas, including deploying 5G applications in parks. As reported by OpenGov Asia, Nanshan District installed three smart solar panel benches which can store electricity through the absorption of solar energy in the daytime. The smart 5G bench is equipped with free WiFi access, phone-charging ports and wireless charging.
People can place the mobile phone on the bench and it will automatically charge the phone. They can also use the free WiFi to listen to music while exercising nearby. The benches have become parkgoers’ favourite for leisure and exercise at Sihai Park in Nanshan District, Shenzhen city.
The park’s story is the tip of the iceberg of applications of 5G in Nanshan District, Shenzhen City. The city is encouraging the use of 5G in industrial Internet, Internet of Vehicles, high-definition videos and smart drones. Model projects will be selected each year and will each receive a maximum subsidy of US$4.7 million.
