China to ramp up 5G network construction to revive economy

SHANGHAI, Mar 26 (SMM) – China’s three major telecom carriers, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, as well as state-owned telecom tower infrastructure service provider China Tower, have pledged to accelerate their pace of investment in 5G. This is in response to the central government’s call to build "new infrastructure" projects to counter the economic fallout due to the coronavirus and boost the country's economy in the long term. 

New infrastructure, different from traditional infrastructure construction such as railways, roads, and airports, can be understood as new public facilities serving the needs of new industrialisation. 

Besides 5G, new infrastructure projects also include ultra-high-voltage power facilities, inter-city transport, vehicle charging stations, big data centres, artificial intelligence, and industrial internet.

By 2025, 5G technology will account for nearly half of China’s overall mobile connections, with the rate on a par with other leading 5G markets such as South Korea, Japan and the US, forecasted by the London-based international mobile trade association GSMA.

A survey by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) showed that the cumulative investment in 5G network construction in China will reach 1.2 trillion yuan by 2025. This is estimated to prompt an additional investment of 3.5 trillion yuan in other related sectors, noted CAICT. 

As of March 6, China Mobile has started its equipment purchases for the phase II 5G wireless network construction this year. 

According to state news agency reports, China Mobile has deployed more than 80,000 5G base stations across the country by end-February, with over 10 million 5G subscribers. The telecom carrier maintains its target of setting up 300,000 5G base stations with 5G networks covering all cities at prefecture level and above this year. 

In addition, China Telecom and China Unicom have rolled out plans to jointly purchase 5G network equipment and work together to construct 100,000 5G base stations across 47 cities within the first half of this year.