RTTue, 16 Nov 2021 20:24 UTC
© Reuters/Tingshu Wang
All cities and towns in China, as well as "most" villages, will be covered by 5G networks by 2025, the Ministry of Industry in Beijing has announced in a new infrastructure development plan.
Under the plan, the number of 5G base stations per 10,000 people will be increased to 26, and gigabit optical fiber networks will be extended to most urban and rural areas of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) announced on Tuesday.
Digital infrastructure has been defined as a "strategic, basic and pioneering industry to help build a new type of digital infrastructure and support economic and social development," according to MIIT official Xie Cun.
Information technology will be "deeply integrated" with the economy and society, with the goal of spurring internet innovation and creating a business boom, the ministry added.
Meanwhile, the authorities are working on "a new type of supervision system" as well as measures to protect users' personal information and data.
Comment: Consider the boon to field-related manufacturers: Required devices for 5-G will make all prior equipment obsolescent.
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) unveiled plans to more than triple the number of 5G base stations over the next four years, targeting a total of 3.64 million by end-2025, local newspaper China Daily reported.
Under this plan, China aims to have 26 5G base stations for every 10,000 people by the end of 2025. In comparison, in 2020, there were five 5G base stations for every 10,000 people in China.
The plan also stipulates that the penetration rate of 5G users in the country will grow from 15% in 2020 to 56% in 2021.
Xie Cun, director of the information and communication development department at the ministry, said that Chinese operators have already deployed more than 1.15 million 5G base stations, accounting for more than 70% of the global total, and 5G network coverage has been achieved in urban areas of all prefecture-level cities. The official also said that 5G coverage reached 97% of counties and 40% of rural towns across the country.
Xie said 5G has already been used in 22 industries, including industrial manufacturing, mining, ports, medical care, education and entertainment.
"In the next step, we will work with other parties to focus on promoting 5G applications in 15 industries that target information consumption, real economy and people's livelihood services."
Meanwhile, Wang Zhiqin, deputy head of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a government think tank, said China will have built the world's largest and most extensive Standalone 5G network by the end of 2025.
Chinese operators recorded a net gain of 43.88 million 5G subscribers in September, according to the carriers' latest available figures.
Comment: Consider the boon to field-related manufacturers: Required devices for 5-G will make all prior equipment obsolescent.