China soon to issue 5G license as the network enters crucial period for commercial use

According to the ministry, the global 5G networks are currently entering a critical period of commercial deployment. During the phase of technical testing, foreign companies, including Nokia, Ericsson, Qualcomm and Intel, have been fully involved. China welcomes both domestic and foreign enterprises to actively participate in the building of 5G networks.

"The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will soon grant 5G commercial-use licenses, meaning that China will officially enter the first year of 5G commercial use. We, as always, welcome foreign enterprises to participate in 5G network construction and promotion, continue to deepen cooperation, work together to achieve the development and innovation of 5G and share the achievements of China's 5G," said Gong Daning, senior engineer of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

The standards of 5G networks are a set of unified international standards jointly developed by the global industry. Data show that China is leading the world in 5G research.

According to IPlytics, an intellectual property analysis service, China held the largest number of patents in 5G as of March this year, accounting for a third of the world's total, followed by South Korea, the US, and Finland.

Watch:Brand new 5G-equipped bus keeps passengers entertained in southwest China

So far, countries including South Korea, the US, and the UK have already had 5G services. The telecom giant Huawei played an important role as it is a leading supplier of base stations, a key facility that enables the exchange of signals between devices.

"In terms of industrial development, China takes the lead in 5G technology research and development test, accelerating the research and industrialization of 5G equipment. At present, China's mid-band 5G equipment, terminal chips and smartphones are in the first tier of the global industry," said Gong.

Currently, the application of 5G is stretching in the pilot cities. In south China's Guangzhou, the 5G network plus 4K Ultra High-Definition (UHD) industry has become a new growth point for its economy.

"This year we will build 10,000 5G base stations to cover the main urban areas with 5G signal. Besides, we will introduce over 1,000 high-tech enterprises like artificial intelligence and Big Data and create new information products for people, enabling them to have more information and greater sense of fulfilment," said Hu Zhigang, chief engineer of the Guangzhou Municipal Industry and Information Technology Bureau.

In Shanghai, over 20,000 residential areas have been equipped with fixed gigabit broadband based on optical fibre, with the number of users exceeding 10 million.

"We have so far completed the program of 20,000 5G base stations in Shanghai and in 2019 we will start the building of 3,000. 5G will basically cover Shanghai city centre as well as the city's major towns by 2020," said Liu Yuefeng, head of the 5G promotion office of the Shanghai Branch under China Telecom.