Shanghai increasing F5G networks investment

Shanghai is to increase investment in F5G, or fifth-generation fixed networks, to establish the city as a global data hub platform, the local industry regulator said.

The global optical communications market, fueled by F5G and other services, was expected to hit 1.4 trillion yuan (US$215.4 billion) in 2020, and 3.2 trillion yuan in 2025, according to an Ernst & Young report.

Compared with mobile 5G broadband networks, F5G applications cover family digital entertainment services and fiber optic network upgrade for industrial communications and international connections.

In the next three years, Shanghai plans to build 50,000 outdoor 5G base stations and upgrade F5G networks to improve download speeds to 1 gigabyte per second. The city also aims to improve international Internet connection capacity, which already accounts for a third of the national level. 

The other F5G upgrades will be used to improve urban management networks and build unmanned factories, said Pan Yan, director of information infrastructure division of Shanghai’s economy and informatization commission. 

With F5G development and connections, Shanghai will become “a leading telecommunications hub in Asia and a global data hub platform,” Pan said.

Ernst & Young said F5G will boost development of various digital economy functions from next-generation entertainment with virtual reality, streaming and cloud games, smart manufacturing, smart offices with cloud applications and e-governance and smart homes, transport and education.

“As the backbone and important support of digitalization, F5G is the digital base of information infrastructure construction, to support applications like cloud and AI,” said Ye Liang, an Ernst & Young partner.