After 4 years of commercialization, how 5G has reached a new level
The process of "5G changing society" is still on the way, and the iconic phenomenal 5G application has not yet appeared, how to give full play to the value of 5G network and create a more mature global industrial ecology is an important issue that needs to be seriously considered and promoted.
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It has been more than 2019 years since China issued 5G commercial licenses in 4, what are the achievements of 5G commercialization?
The reporter learned from the 2023 Shanghai Mobile World Congress (hereinafter referred to as the "conference") that as of the end of May this year, the total number of 5G base stations completed and opened in China reached 5.284 million, covering all prefecture-level cities and counties. 4G applications have been integrated into 5 of the 97 national economic categories, and the number of application cases has exceeded 60,5. At present, China has built the world's largest and most technologically advanced 5G network.
According to the Global Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) 2023 China Mobile Economy Report, China is the world's leading 5G market, accounting for 2022% of global 5G connections by the end of 60, and operators are increasingly turning to 5G industry applications.
From "3G breakthrough" to "4G synchronization", China's communications industry has now achieved a leap to "5G leadership" and is aiming at a new journey of 6G research and development.
Accelerate upgrades from "well built" to "well used"
During the conference, China Mobile demonstrated many 5G application cases. Li Huidi, deputy general manager of China Mobile, said that at present, the number of 5G terminal customers of China Mobile has reached 4 million, the 8G network diversion ratio exceeds 5%, and the 50G commercial cases exceed 5,2; with the completion of 3,2023 36G base stations in 5, the population coverage rate will exceed 90%.
During the conference, operators also demonstrated 5G new call, which is a combination of multimedia communication, artificial intelligence technology, combined with computing power network call innovative applications and value-added services, which has been trialed in some pilot provinces in June, and will achieve large-scale commercial use of the whole network this year.
Compared to previous generations of telecommunications technologies, the advantage of 5G lies in industrial applications. For example, the smart mine application supported by 5G can enable mines to achieve "unmanned operation", which can not only reduce costs and increase efficiency, but also contribute to safe production, and 5G also has a wide application prospect in various industry scenarios such as smart education, medical care, cultural and museum, Internet of Things, and Internet of Vehicles.
Zhao Zhiguo, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that China's 5G construction deployment and large-scale application have been solidly promoted, accelerating the upgrade from "well built" to "well used". In terms of network construction, China has built more than 5,1 virtual private networks in the 6G industry; in terms of technological innovation, it has created a relatively complete industrial chain such as 5G systems, chips, terminals, and instruments; In terms of integrated applications, 5G applications in the industrial field have gradually penetrated into the core links of production and operation, such as the 5G+ emergency treatment system has been built and used in more than 70 prefecture-level cities, and the 50G application of the top 5 coal enterprises in China accounts for 72%.
Alex Sinclair, chief technology officer of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), said that since the first launch of 2019G networks in 5, there have been about 13.5 billion 2025G connections in the global mobile industry and is expected to reach 25.5 billion by 5. Ultra-reliable <>G systems bring high levels of automation, customization, flexibility, and analytics capabilities that create a lot of value for industries around the world. He said that the value of <>G in the future will also be driven by providing rich network capabilities, thereby promoting the digital development of various industries.
How to accelerate the 5G global industry ecology
The four-year history of 5G commercialization has made the industry constantly think about how to accelerate the development of 4G applications in terms of value, cost, and integration. Looking at the world, Chinese enterprises are already in a leading position in the construction and application of 5G, and how to cultivate a more mature industrial ecology and create more cross-industry and cross-regional cooperation cases has become a more realistic problem.
Yang Jie, chairman of China Mobile, proposed in his speech at the conference that we should jointly promote the in-depth expansion of 5G applications, strengthen international cooperation and exchange and best practice promotion of 5G integrated applications and demonstration projects, accelerate the research and development of multi-mode, multi-frequency and multi-form intelligent terminals, create a variety of 5G products and services, and promote the rapid popularization of 5G around the world.
Ke Ruiwen, chairman of China Telecom, said that the process of "5G changing society" is still on the way, and the iconic phenomenal 5G application has not yet appeared, and how to give full play to the value of 5G network and create a more mature global industrial ecology is an important issue that needs to be seriously considered and promoted.
China Telecom will accelerate innovative and integrated applications, including accelerating the integration of 5G and vertical industries, accelerating the application of 5G in multiple scenarios for customers, upgrading from single scenario to full-scenario capability integration, accelerating collaborative innovation in the industrial chain and supply chain, carrying out joint research, creating a standardized system for 5G integrated applications in the industry, and forming replicable and low-cost large-scale applications.
Liu Liehong, chairman of China Unicom, said that China Unicom will build a 5G high-quality network, deepen the 5G co-construction and sharing with China Telecom, accelerate the construction of 900GHz low-frequency bottom network, and further improve 5G network coverage in rural and remote areas. At the application level, China Unicom will promote the large-scale application of To B (for enterprises) and To G (for government), work with all parties in the industry to complete the formulation of R5 standards as soon as possible, accelerate the R&D and industrialization of chips, modules, terminals and other products, accelerate the commercial process of 18G Advanced (5G expansion and enhancement), and further promote the "5G + Industrial Internet" into the core production links.
Accelerating international cooperation in 5G applications is also the common voice of the entire industry. The GSMA is known as the "United Nations of the mobile industry", connecting more than 750 mobile operators and more than 400 ecosystem partners around the world. Recently, the GSMA announced that all three major operators in China (China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom) have joined the GSMA Open Gateway initiative. It is a world-ready network application program programming interface (API) framework designed to provide developers with universal access to carrier networks. The framework is supported by nearly 30 mobile operators worldwide, representing approximately 60% of global mobile connections.
Mats Granryd, president of the GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications Association), said in an interview with the media that it is expected that China will become the first market with 2025 billion 5G connections in 10, but because 5G is more aimed at the B-end market, enterprises need to take longer to develop their own applications, so they need to maintain some patience to ensure that they can help various industries adapt to the new 5G world.
From 5.5G to 6G
Compared with 4 years ago, during the conference, industry, academia and research circles not only discussed the application of 5G, but also discussed the technical progress and application scenarios of 5.5G (5G Advanced) and even 6G.
"If 5G is the Internet of Everything, then 6G is the Intelligent Connection of Everything." You Xiaohu, director of the National Key Laboratory of Mobile Communications of Southeast University, vividly painted the future picture of 6G.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has previously made it clear that it will comprehensively promote the research and development of 6G technology, and its latest release of the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Radio Frequency Allocation" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") takes the lead in the global allocation of 6GHz frequency bands for 5G/6G systems, and will be officially implemented from July 7. The 1GHz band is the only large-bandwidth high-quality resource in the medium band, taking into account the advantages of coverage and capacity, which is especially suitable for 6G or future 5G system deployment, and can give full play to the advantages of the existing medium band 6G global industry.
The industry generally believes that determining its rule status in the form of regulations is conducive to stabilizing 5G/6G industry expectations, promoting the global or regional division of 5G/6G spectrum resources, providing the necessary mid-band frequency resources for the development of 5G/6G, and promoting the innovation and development of mobile communication technology and industry.
Yang Jie, chairman of China Mobile, said that for the evolution of 6G technology, it is necessary to focus on the key areas of next-generation communication technology that are close to the "Shannon limit", strengthen basic theoretical research, break through key technologies such as new network architecture, synesthesia computing integration, and intelligent endogenous, and continue to deepen the integration and innovation of a new generation of information technology.
Recently, China Mobile released a 6G public trial verification platform to support the verification of various new services and application scenarios, lower the threshold for research and development of key 6G technologies, and help form a unified global 6G standard. It also released the "6G Collaborative Innovation Prototype Platform Achievements" to continue to strengthen joint research on 6G technology and promote the integrated development of the 6G industry.
Wang Xiaoyun, chief scientist of China Mobile, said that in the decade of mobile communications, the current International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has a clear 6G vision and indicator system, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has taken the lead in using 6GHz for 5G/6G systems, and 6G research and development has entered an accelerated period, but it faces more challenges than 5G, such as longer cycles, earlier starts, and divergent technologies. In addition, 6G technology innovation faces "triple challenges", requiring original technological breakthroughs, converged technological innovation, and network expansion innovation.
Today, four years after the commercial use of 5G, 4.5G (6G-Advanced), which is in the stage of connecting 5G and 5G, has also attracted much attention from the communications industry.
The communication network standard is usually one generation every 10 years or so, and because the technology iteration upgrade is too fast, there is usually a transition technology stage between the whole generations. The industry generally believes that the 5.5G stage will achieve peak rates of 10 gigabit downlink (1Gbps) and gigabit uplink (<>Gbps), as well as millisecond-level delay, low-cost <> billion IoT, millisecond-level delay can support real-time interaction, VR (virtual reality) live broadcast, digital intelligence competition, etc. are expected to enter reality.
Meng Wanzhou, vice chairman and rotating chairman of Huawei, said that 5.5G is an inevitable way for 5G network evolution. The network characteristics of 5.5G networks of "5,5 Gigabit downlink, gigabit uplink, 5 billion connections, and endogenous intelligence" have been clarified, and from <>G to <>.<>G, scenarios such as human connection, IoT, perception, and high-end manufacturing will be better matched, and more new business opportunities will be incubated.
Meng Wanzhou said that after the commercial use of 5G, people's expectations for breakthrough and leapfrog innovation have become stronger and stronger, and how 5G will move to a new level and how to develop in depth has become a new proposition for industrial development. Facing the future, we should not only pay attention to the continuous evolution of single-point technology, but also match the appropriate technology based on scenarios and needs, and ascend to the dimension through system engineering. In her view, the systematic ability to integrate technology and manage change is particularly important on the road to 5G commercial success. On the one hand, there is the ability to integrate technology; On the other hand, there is the ability to manage change.
Wang Lin, reporter of China Youth Daily Source: China Youth Daily