The mature 5G network will "show its skills" in thousands of industries
-Interview with Yi Zhiling, Chief Scientist of China Mobile Research Institute
Wisdom Eyes on 5G
In July this year, the 5G R16 standard was officially frozen.
This means that the upstream and downstream of the industry chain can develop and manufacture corresponding products based on this standard, further enrich the application scenarios of 5G technology, and accelerate the global commercial process of 5G.
The R16 standard is the crystallization of global collaboration. According to incomplete statistics, my country's three major operators account for about 40% of the contributions of global operators to the R16 standard.
Operators are the mainstay of 5G construction and operation. “China Mobile has currently built and opened more than 385,000 5G base stations, providing 5G services to all prefecture-level cities and some key counties across the country, with more than 130 million 5G package users. The 5G network we built The coverage area should be the widest in the world, and the number of customers served is also the largest." Yi Zhiling, chief scientist of China Mobile Research Institute, told a reporter from Science and Technology Daily recently, "We have built the world's largest 5G SA network and will accelerate the promotion of SA terminals. The end-to-end industry has further matured and is ready to introduce the R16 standard with richer capabilities."
At the 2020 World 5G Conference that will open on November 26, she will discuss the vision and roadmap of the future wireless communication network with operators from all walks of life, which is what she is most looking forward to.
5G helps realize the new features of "five vertical and three horizontal"
"At present, China is accelerating the construction of new infrastructure such as 5G and data centers, and promoting the deep integration of information and communication technology with the economy, society and people's livelihood. The digital transformation process of the economy and society is accelerating, showing the new characteristics of'five verticals and three horizontals'." Yi Zhiling said that the "five verticals" are five typical scenarios where information technology is currently accelerating the penetration of the economy and society, namely, infrastructure digitalization, social governance digitalization, production methods digitalization, work methods digitalization, and lifestyle digitalization; The three common needs of the current economic and social digital transformation are online, intelligent, and cloud.
She said that according to the predictions of relevant institutions, by 2025, China's digital economy will reach 60 trillion yuan in value-added, and software and information service industry revenue will reach 13.1 trillion yuan, with huge market potential.
As the aorta of social information flow, an accelerator for industrial transformation and upgrading, and a new cornerstone for the construction of a digital society, 5G will effectively promote the realization of the new characteristics of "five verticals and three horizontals", and bring broader growth space and opportunities for development.
"Accelerating the development of 5G construction and application is of great significance to my country's acceleration of digital transformation and upgrading, effective release of emerging consumption potential, and hedging of the impact of the epidemic." Yi Zhiling said.
Technological innovation boosts network construction to overcome difficulties
At the same time, as my country's 5G construction is synchronized with international leaders, 5G is a new starting point for in-depth integration of DICT in technology. It is also the first time in the market that it is trying to fully embrace thousands of industries. It must undergo a process of exploration and experimentation.
"In the process of 5G construction, we did encounter certain challenges, such as high energy consumption and difficulty in obtaining site resources. But this is the only way for the network to mature." Yi Zhiling said frankly.
"The place where the challenge arises is also where the innovation lies." Yi Zhiling emphasized.
According to her, China Mobile has made a lot of technological innovations. For example, through centralized deployment, it can greatly reduce the requirements for site resources and build sites quickly and at low cost. For example, in terms of network energy saving, from the equipment level to the site level. Comprehensive energy-saving is carried out in the three aspects of network and network level. For example, at the site level, based on the sub-frame shutdown and channel shutdown introduced in 4G, new concepts such as 5G deep sleep are proposed, and software energy saving is developed and coordinated with the industry.
In addition, Yi Zhiling said that China Mobile continues to actively carry out "network construction and sharing" through market-based mechanisms.
Recently, China Mobile and China Radio and Television signed a 5G co-construction and sharing cooperation framework agreement. Both parties can take advantage of 5G technology, frequency resources, content and other aspects to achieve 5G network coverage intensively and efficiently, enrich 5G business, and promote 5G integration into all industries and services. The public has laid a good foundation.
R17 is expected to complete the freeze in June 2022
"The application prospects of 5G in all walks of life are very bright." Yi Zhiling said optimistically. In the past year, 5G business development has played an important role in helping fight the epidemic, resume work and production, and economic digital transformation.
As of the end of September 2020, China Mobile's 5G package customers have exceeded 100 million.
At the same time, she suggested that 5G is a new type of infrastructure, and network coverage is a process of continuous operation. In addition to the continuous efforts of telecom operators, it is recommended that relevant departments support the resolution of electricity tariffs, tax reductions, and cross-industry development of 5G applications from the policy level. .
According to Yi Zhiling, in the future, while maintaining high coverage and high quality, we will focus on building 5G boutique networks, speeding up network construction, and meeting consumer and industry needs.
Accelerate the integration and innovation of new technologies, carry out deep integration of IT/CT/DT, and carry out digital innovation.
Expand new business opportunities and new models, break through industry barriers, promote the application of 5G industry, and build a new development pattern of "domestic cycle as the main body and domestic and international dual cycle mutual promotion"
"We are in the stage of close deployment after the freeze of R16 and the advancement of R17. It is expected that the freeze of the R17 standard will be completed in June 2022, thereby pushing the development of 5G to a higher level." Yi Zhiling said.