Staff members of China Mobile test the signals of the 5G base station built at an altitude of 6,500 meters at the advance camp of Mount Qomolangma in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on May 21, 2020. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)
BEIJING, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- China is projected to invest more than 1 trillion yuan in the construction of 5G base stations in the following five years, the Xinhua-run Economic Information Daily reported on Wednesday.
The country has built more than 718,000 5G base stations, and invested over 260 billion yuan in the 5G network construction, according to the opening ceremony of the 2021 World Mobile Congress (MWC) in Shanghai on Tuesday.
It is learned that 5G networks in standalone (SA) mode have covered all cities in the country, and the number of 5G terminal connections has exceeded 200 million.
Domestic operators, equipment vendors, and terminal vendors are currently focusing on the 5G construction. Due to frequency band factors, 5G network construction requires more base stations and costs, according to a 5G industry research report released by the Qichacha Big Data Institute.
With reference to the 44-percent compound growth in the number of 4G base stations in the country from 2014 to 2019, it is conservatively estimated that the total investment in China's 5G base station construction will reach trillions of yuan in the next five years, said the report.
Meanwhile, Global System for Mobile communications Association (GSMA) is also optimistic about China's 5G construction in the coming years.
According to a GSMA report, from 2020 to 2025, China's mobile operators are expected to invest nearly 210 billion U.S. dollars to build networks, 90 percent of which will flow to 5G.
The GSMA also attributed the expansion of 5G applications in China to its active network investment and a growing terminal ecosystem.
The rapid 5G development will generate great value in the vertical industry applications and the integration of information and communication technology.
The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) predicted that by 2025, 5G network construction will cumulatively drive investment in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain and the industrial application to exceed 3.5 trillion yuan.
In particular, the rapid growth of 5G services will bring about significant growth in performance for the operators.
GSMA predicted that by 2025, the total revenue of domestic operators will achieve a compound annual growth of 2.0 percent, reversing the negatively growing trend from 2014 to 2019.
In addition to the upstream infrastructure construction, the 5G terminals have been penetrating people's daily life.
According to the CAICT, the country's sales of 5G smartphones in 2020 stood at 163 million units, accounting for nearly 53 percent of total smartphone sales. In January 2021, the 5G mobile phone shipments in the country reached 27.28 million units, hitting a new monthly high. (Edited by Hu Pingchao with Xinhua Silk Road, hupingchao@xinhua.org)
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