One year has passed since China officially issued 5G licenses on June 6 this year. 5G is at the forefront of the current "new infrastructure", but for many ordinary consumers, a year of 5G licensing does not seem to have much impact on their lives. Doubts about 5G remain. But a lot of the things that have a profound impact are the things that run deep, not the things that go on every day. The reality is that while some people have no particular feelings about 5G, China has quietly built the world's largest 5G network.
Despite fierce competition between the United States and South Korea for the title of "the earliest 5G commercial country in the world", South Korea finally "stole" the United States and became the first country to officially commercialize 5G. South Korea also built about 115,000 5G base stations, occupying a relatively leading position in the world 5G construction. However, after China officially issued 5G licenses last year, it entered the 5G acceleration state. On November 1, 2019, 5G will be officially commercialized in China. Despite the pressure of the epidemic, 5G construction has not slowed down since 2020. By the end of March, China's 5G base stations had reached 198,000, and it is still growing at a rate of 10,000 a week.
A year after 5G license were issued, the number of 5G base stations in China has reached about 300,000 and will reach about 600,000 by the end of this year. That would be 15 times as many as in the United States, which has fewer than 20,000 and only about 600,000 planned 5G base stations. In addition to base stations, we have more than 36 million 5G users, and we believe the number will exceed 100 million by the end of this year.
Both network and users are fundamental elements for 5G's basic capacity building and long-term development. Many people think 5G is not impressive, think 5G development should be reflected in a large number of businesses. But the truth is that only when the network is built can the business be fully developed. Although we have built 300,000 base stations and will build 600,000 or so by the end of this year, this base station still cannot meet China's requirements for 5G development. For China to build a complete 5G network, the number of base stations will exceed 6 million, which is not enough to build 10,000 a week.
One year after 5G licenses were officially issued, we have already seen the changes and convenience that 5G network application may bring. For example, the construction of Leishenshan and Huoshenshan hospitals, which attracted much attention during the epidemic period, could not be covered with optical fiber due to the extremely short time of design and construction. However, 5G network layout ensured the smooth network overnight. Without 5G network and high-definition video communication under guarantee, it will be difficult for doctors and families to communicate and some necessary remote diagnosis and treatment in The "Two Shan" hospital. The average user may not have seen this for a while, but 5G is becoming more widely used and is really solving the problem.
5G+AI under the new infrastructure model has been explored and applied in many industries, such as "unmanned" operations such as blasting warning in mining areas, safety inspection of cement silos, unmanned warehouses and unmanned wharves, etc. Now, local governments are more active than telecom operators in 5G network construction, because they have seen from the situation during the epidemic that 5G has a huge impact on social management and technological innovation.
It will take some time to build a national 5G network, and 5G needs to be integrated with various fields such as industry and consumer life to form a strong business system. Many ordinary consumers haven't seen the great value of 5G for a while, but regardless of network, terminal and business, people in 5G related industries have found many application and breakthrough opportunities and made remarkable achievements. It is believed that 5G China will certainly lead the world and exert a growing influence on the work and life of ordinary people. Before that, we still need a little patience, need some accumulation.
