Liu Liehong, vice minister of industry and information technology, said at the 2021 (20th) China Internet Conference, which opened in Beijing on July 13, that China has built the world's largest optical fiber network, 4G and 5G independent networking networks. At present, 916000 base stations have been built in 5G, accounting for more than 365 million of the world's 70% 5G connections and 80% of the world's total.
In recent years, the national level has repeatedly issued articles to speed up the construction of 5G. In March 2020, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the Circular on promoting the accelerated Development of 5G, putting forward opinions on promoting the construction and deployment of 5G network and enriching technology application scenarios. Since the beginning of this year, Xinjiang, Hubei, Jiangxi and other places have also issued relevant opinions or key points of work to speed up the construction of 5G.
On July 13, 10 departments, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Central Internet Information Office and the National Development and Reform Commission, issued the Action Plan for 5G Application (2021-2023) (hereinafter referred to as "the Action Plan"). By 2023, the penetration rate of 5G individual users in China has exceeded 40%, and the number of users has exceeded 560 million. At the same time, efforts will be made to open up 5G application innovation chain, industrial chain and supply chain, and promote 5G applications in 15 industries. Through the initial formation of 5G innovative application system in three years, we will speed up the process of digital transformation in key industries.
At a regular briefing on State Council policy held by the State Information Office, Liu Liehong said: since the 13th five-year Plan, China has built the largest information and communication network in the world. The proportion of optical fiber broadband users has increased from 56% at the end of 2015 to 94% now, gigabit optical network covers more than 120 million households, 4G base stations account for more than half of the global total, 792000 5G base stations are opened, and 260 million 5G mobile phone terminals are connected. The proportion of optical fiber and 4G in administrative villages has exceeded 99%, and the "digital gap" between urban and rural areas has significantly narrowed.
