World's biggest 5G commercial network to debut in Shanghai
The world’s biggest trial commercial 5G network will be staged in Shanghai, representing China’s leading position of the next-generation mobile communications technology, Shanghai Daily learned at an industry forum held in the city today.
The development of 5G, which offers 10 to 20 times faster speed compared with current 4G technology, is also in line with the China’s national strategy on economy transformation and industry upgrade, industry officials told the Wireless Development Summit forum.
Shanghai’s 5G test network, which is expected to start operation since next month, is in Jinqiao of the Pudong New Area, developed by Huawei and carriers like China Mobile and China Unicom.
“The Shanghai network, to open next month, is going to be the world’s biggest 5G trial commercial network,” said Chen Yifang, Huawei’s vice president on 5G business.
Besides the upcoming Shanghai 5G network, China has another 5G test work in Huairou District of Beijing.
5G network is a key growth engine of economy in China and globally, which is expected to contribute 8.86 trillion yuan (US$1.34 trillion) in the next decade. Compared with Europe and the United States, China is in the leading position in the 5G sector, said Wang Zhiqin, vice chairman of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), the state-level organization to push 5G development.
The first 5G commercial standard is expected to be released in the middle of next year, with official commercial use around 2020, speakers told the forum.
The 5G-related shares surged in the domestic stock markets today.
ZTE, the country’s biggest public telecommunications equipment maker, surged 6.9 percent to hit 26.7 yuan, a record high price of the Shenzhen-listed firm. Tongyu Communication jumped 6.02 percent to close at 40.89 yuan, while Shenzhen stock index decrease of 0.26 percent today.
Some pre-5G applications have already been used in Shanghai.
China Mobile, Huawei and SAIC have signed cooperation agreement on smart driving test based on 5G technology in the Shanghai Circuit. China Unicom has cooperated with Mercedes-Benz Arena to offer on-site show video based on 5G’s wide bandwidth.
