According to MIIT data, 5G technology has been integrated into 71 major economic sectors in China.
Chinese telecommunications operators had installed more than 3.5 million 5G base stations across the country as of the end of February, local news agencies reported. Xinhua News Agency The report cited the latest data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
With the expansion of 5G stations, the use of 5G in local industries is also expanding, accelerating the integration of digital technology with the real economy, according to the ministry.
According to MIIT data, 5G technology has been integrated into 71 key economic sectors in China, including intelligent factories, mining and logistics.
Zhao Zhiguo, the ministry’s chief engineer, said the ministry will continue to promote the digital transformation of industries and implement the “AI plus” initiative to accelerate new industrialization leveraging digital technologies.
The report also noted that efforts will be made to promote the large-scale development of 5G applications to bring about greater innovation in various sectors.
Currently, 5G base stations account for approximately 29% of China’s total mobile base stations, up 7.8 percentage points from the end of 2022.
The penetration rate of 5G technology in China is expected to reach 90% by the end of 2023, local newspaper Global Times previously reported, citing an executive at domestic telecommunications operator China Mobile.
Bian Yannan, deputy director of planning and construction at China Mobile, said the penetration rate is expected to be achieved by deploying 360,000 5G base stations in 2023.
According to GSMA’s Mobile Economy China 2024, China is expected to lead the world in 5G adoption, reaching 90% by 2030. The report predicts that the Asian country will surpass 1 billion 5G connections by the end of 2024, and that by 2030, the number of connections will soar to 1.6 billion, contributing $260 billion to China’s GDP.
Moreover, according to the GSMA report, China’s mobile data traffic is expected to quadruple by the end of the decade, and currently, China has 1.28 billion unique mobile subscribers with a penetration rate of 88%. Moreover, the advanced mobile ecosystem currently supports approximately 8 million jobs in China, contributes $110 billion annually through taxation, and operator revenue will reach $225 billion in 2023. GSMA predicts that by the end of the decade, China’s mobile sector’s annual economic contribution will exceed $1 trillion.
