Over 60% of 5G applications in the national economy have been integrated into the commercial sector in four years, and the future is promising. Information technology | National economy

According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as of the end of April this year, China has built a total of 2.733 million 5G base stations; The number of 5G mobile phone users reached 634 million, accounting for 37.1% of mobile phone users.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated that China has built the world's largest and most advanced 5G network, which has covered all prefecture level cities, county and urban areas in the country.

Since the issuance of 5G licenses in China on June 6, 2019, over 60% of 5G applications have been integrated into the national economy category. At present, the basic telecommunications industry has invested nearly 600 billion yuan in building 5G networks, directly driving a total economic output of about 3.8 trillion yuan and indirectly driving a total economic output of about 9.4 trillion yuan, effectively promoting the development of the digital economy.

5G Development Accelerates to Drive Telecom Business Revenue Growth

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently released the "Economic Operation of the Communication Industry from January to April 2023", which pointed out that the construction of new infrastructure such as 5G, gigabit optical network, and Internet of Things is accelerating, and the scale of network connected users is continuously expanding; Emerging businesses such as cloud computing have played a significant role in driving the growth of mobile Internet access traffic, and new drivers of industry development continue to increase.

Data shows that from January to April, three basic telecommunications companies completed mobile data traffic business revenue of 219.1 billion yuan, accounting for 38.4% of telecommunications business revenue. Meanwhile, revenue from emerging businesses has maintained a rapid growth trend. The three basic telecom enterprises actively developed emerging businesses such as IPTV, Internet data center, big data, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things. From January to April, they achieved business revenue of 125 billion yuan, up 22.3% year on year, accounting for 21.9% of telecom business revenue, driving the growth of telecom business revenue by 4.3 percentage points.

In terms of user development, as of the end of April, the number of 5G mobile phone users reached 634 million, a net increase of 73.08 million compared to the end of last year, accounting for 37.1% of mobile phone users and an increase of 3.8 percentage points compared to the end of last year.

As of the end of April, three basic telecommunications companies have developed over 2 billion cellular IoT terminal users, accounting for 54.1% of the total number of mobile network terminal connections. Since the end of August 2022, the number of cellular IoT terminal users representing "IoT" connections in mobile network connection terminals has exceeded the number of mobile phone users representing "human" connections for the first time, and the pace of "IoT superhuman" continues to increase.

For thousands of lines of wisdom to enable 5G application fruitful results

With the promotion and popularization of 5G, 5G integrated application solutions have been widely replicated in key industries such as mining, ports, and power, helping various industries accelerate their digital transformation. At present, 5G applications have been integrated into 60 out of 97 national economic categories, with over 50000 application cases.

At the 31st China International Information and Communication Exhibition, multiple participating companies showcased the development process and application effectiveness of 5G in a comprehensive and multi-faceted manner, focusing on 5G network capabilities, application scenarios, and how 5G empowers various industries and helps digital transformation. For example, forms such as 5G live streaming, smart cities, and computing power networks fully demonstrate their positive contributions to empowering the digital transformation of the economy and society.

Communication industry expert Xiang Ligang pointed out in an interview with CCTV reporters that, taking 5G application scenarios such as smart mines, smart ports, and smart factories as examples, a large amount of work that used to require manual labor has now been replaced by machines and remotely controlled, greatly reducing the occurrence of safety accidents and significantly improving social efficiency.

Independent telecommunications analyst Fu Liang also told reporters that the outstanding capabilities of 5G are mainly reflected in two aspects: high speed and low latency. Namely, transmitting a large amount of data in a short period of time, and even achieving real-time propagation; At the same time, it can greatly reduce the time difference during data transmission. "This provides a wide range of application scenarios for 5G, such as 5G remote surgery."

"In the manufacturing industry, there are often many communication nodes, possibly thousands, in a production workshop. To connect these communication nodes, it often requires high fiber optic and subsequent operation and maintenance costs. With the support of 5G, the 5G wireless network, which combines high bandwidth, high reliability, and low latency, has enabled more and more factories to achieve intelligent improvement of production equipment and processes." Xiang Ligang said.

Thicker, deeper, and wider, 5G development is facing a turning point

Since the commercialization of 5G, with the joint efforts of various parties in the industry, significant results have been achieved and the technological industry capabilities have been continuously improved. The integration of 5G applications is an important engine for promoting the digital, networked, and intelligent transformation of the economy and society. In this context, the future development of 5G is particularly important.

Wu Hequan, academician of the CAE Member, said at the 31st China International Information and Communication Exhibition that 5G has reached a critical turning point. At present, 5G networks have covered all counties and urban areas across the country, and the number of 5G users accounts for more than 30% of the total mobile users. It is expected that the proportion will exceed 50% after 2024. After the network deployment and construction reach a certain scale, 5G will enter the investment return period.

From an application perspective, independent telecommunications analyst Fu Liang pointed out, "Currently, 5G is shifting from the network construction stage to the network maintenance and optimization stage. The next step will continue to focus on deepening and thickening. For example, improving the network speed in certain locations, and improving the network coverage in indoor and underground spaces. At the same time, more industry enterprises need to use 5G to stimulate its value to a greater extent."

More industry enterprises using 5G will generate more personalized demands. In the previously issued "Sailing Action Plan for 5G Applications", it was clearly pointed out that in response to the personalized needs of 5G industry applications, efforts should be made to "increase technological innovation, strengthen research and development of key technologies and products, and lay the technological and industrial foundation for the development of 5G applications. Following the objective law of gradual introduction of 5G technology, standards, industries, networks, and applications, we should closely follow the pace of international standards, focus on promoting the development of 5G applications, create new products, new formats, and new models for 5G integrated applications, and provide solid support for digital transformation, intelligent upgrading, and integrated innovation in various fields of the economy and society."