Huawei and Chinese state telecoms operators tout 5G’s ability to change lives at MWC Shanghai
- Industry executives say 5G has changed the lives of its users, enabling new capabilities such as live-streaming e-commerce from rural farmland
- With more than 500 million 5G users, adoption has reached a level in three years that took 4G twice as long, one Huawei executive says
“Although it looks normal today … pursuing 5G [four years ago] affected many telecoms companies’ interests and brought a lot of additional work,” said Wen Ku, chairman of the China Communications Standards Association, at the local version of MWC, or Mobile World Congress.
Since widespread roll-out began in 2019, 5G has changed both daily life for users and the telecoms industry itself, according to Wen.
“When our network coverage reached farmland, farmers could [live-stream] and promote their products to the whole country just with a phone stand,” he said.
Other organisations to join include the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) and the China Communications Standards Association, a professional standards-setting body.
Since being one of the first major economies to roll out 5G coverage four years ago, China’s coverage has ballooned. As of May, the country had more than 2.8 million 5G base stations, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and CAIAT.
MWC Shanghai returns as in-person event after 2-year pandemic hiatus
China had 500 million 5G users as of September 2022, according to a CAICT report released in January, or about 35 per cent of the population.
Outside the mainland in densely populated Hong Kong, 4.8 million people, or about 65 per cent of the population, are now using 5G, according to Lee Shun, the head of the local communications authority’s regulatory office. The municipal government is encouraging the wider application of 5G to make certain types of activities and locations smarter, such as construction, property management and school campuses, Lee said.
Cao Ming, president of Huawei’s wireless network products, said that 5G has taken just three years to reach a level of adoption in China that took 4G six years. Huawei is now working on what it calls 5.5G, Cao said in his speech, describing it as the next level of the technology with a tenfold increase in speed over existing networks.
“5G has changed people’s lives and work, and has become an important engine for development of the digital economy, enabling operators to achieve business success,” Cao said. “Huawei will work with the industry to accelerate innovation and bring 5.5G to reality.”
04:12
How Huawei's use of 5G and AI is transforming China’s coal mining industry
China Mobile has also been working to build out a national computing network designed to share resources from different parts of the country, according to Li Bin, the deputy general manager of China Mobile Internet.
However, it will still take time to bring this type of technology to everyone, everywhere. Wen noted that China’s 5G coverage still needs to improve in certain areas. Using 5G on a high-speed train, for example, is not a smooth experience, he said.
MWC is the world’s largest mobile communications industry trade show, with a main event held in Barcelona each year. Its regional Shanghai show has returned as an in-person event for the first time this year since 2021, owing to strict travel restrictions in China because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This year’s event runs from June 28 to 30 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre. It held a preview on Tuesday, ahead of the opening ceremony on Wednesday. The London-based organiser said the theme of MWC Shanghai this year is “velocity”, with a focus on 5G transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT) and augmented reality.
