China has switched on its 5G network on November 1st, Independent reports. Vice-minister of industry and information technology said Beijing plans to extend 5G service to more than 130,000 base stations by the end of the year.
Today, 5G is the largest next-generation commercial network in the world, and China became the first-ever country that introduced it to its people in such a wide scale. On Friday, state-owned carriers China Mobile, China Unicom, and ChinaTelecom all unveiled their monthly 5G plans.
According to the deputy director of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the upgraded 5G will allow for the development of China’s digital economy and boost efforts in the field of artificial intelligence.
For China, the launching of 5G network becomes the next milestone and the great achievement. China telecom hardware provider Huawei has figured prominently in China’s 5G emergence. Up to date, Huawei has nearly 50 percent of China Mobile’s 5G networking contracts and partners with China Unicom and China Telecom.
The Chinese ministry of industry and information technology said Beijing plans to extend 5G service to more than 130,000 base stations by the end of the year.
Friday’s launch covers 50 major Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. For comparison, the United States and South Korea rolled out their own 5G wireless networks in a small collection of cities earlier this year.
