China builds more than 690,000 5G stations

China had built more than 690,000 5G base stations nationwide by September, the industry regulator said on Thursday.

It also has 160 million people using various applications such as ultra-high definition video, cloud games and virtual reality based on the 5G network, a technology already adopted in the medical, energy and smart driving sectors, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said during a conference.

In the first three quarters, China’s telecommunications industry revenue hit 1.02 trillion yuan (US$150 billion), jumping 18.6 percent year on year, said Huang Libin, a ministry spokesman.

Despite the challenges of COVID-19, China’s fixed-asset investment in the telecommunications industry gained 16.5 percent year on year in the first nine months, more than a third of the total investment pouring into the 5G sector.