(Source: CnTechPost)
China has opened 718,000 5G base stations, accounting for 70 percent of the world's total, and the standalone (SA) mode of 5G network covers all cities in the country, said Liu Liehong, vice-minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), at the MWC conference in Shanghai today.
At present, China's 5G users have exceeded 200 million, and there are 218 5G phones on the Chinese market, of which mid-to-high-end phones priced above RMB 2,000 ($310) account for 90%.
5G modules have achieved small-scale shipments and have been put into use in industrial gateways, smart homes, and other fields, Liu said.
China has conducted pilots in 30 provinces across the country and implementing projects covering more than 10 industries such as energy, healthcare, transportation, education, literature, and science, Liu added.
It is worth mentioning that Liu also proposed 5G development initiatives to build industrial ecology and strengthen upstream and downstream cooperation in the industry chain. He also called for fostering 5G applications and strengthening international cooperation in the field of 5G security.
By 2025, 4G will account for 53 percent of China's total connections, while 5G will account for 47 percent, according to a report released by the GSMA on the eve of the MWC show.
Liu also said that China has invested more than RMB 260 billion yuan in 5G network construction and will continue to promote the development, construction, and application of 5G networks in the future.
The MIIT's 2021 focus will be on improving network coverage, application innovation, and industry infrastructure capabilities, according to Zhao Zhiguo, spokesperson for the ministry and director of the Information and Communications Administration, at a press conference in late January.
China's three major carriers also announced their subscriber figures for January.
In January 2021, China Telecom saw a net increase of 1.53 million mobile subscribers, bringing the total number of mobile subscribers to 352.55 million. The number of 5G subscriptions increased by a net of 10.67 million that month, bringing the total number of 5G subscriptions to 97.17 million.
China Mobile saw a net decrease of 1.057 million mobile customers in January, resulting in a total of subscribers of940.861 million. The number of 5G package customers increased by a net of 3.968 million, reaching a total of 168.971 million.
China Unicom only said it added 2.739 million 4G users, while its 5G users remained unannounced.
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