Viewpoint
World’s largest 5G rollout paves the way for global adoption of the most transformational mobile technology in decades
Last week, China’s mobile network operators launched their next generation 5G mobile network services, as the country gears up for what will be the biggest 5G network rollout in the world.
On the 31st of October, representatives from China’s big three mobile network operators gathered to launch 5G commercial services in the country.
It has been reported that China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom had racked up 10 million 5G pre-launch subscribers before the event took place.
While China was not first to market on 5G, you get the impression that with its next-generation mobile network launch the country will be in a position to lead for years to come.
For all of the US’ bravado about "leading the world in 5G", there is little doubt that China will see the most comprehensive rollout of 5G services as it scales up its networks in 2020.
Rolling out comprehensive 5G services in a country the size of China is a completely unique proposition. You’re talking about a population of 1.4 billion people – 817 million of whom are mobile subscribers – spread over 9.5 million square kilometres. An estimated 500 million Chinese people live in hard to reach, rural areas, which will present a plethora of challenges for the country’s operators.
But China’s 5G rollout will not only benefit China, it will also benefit the ecosystem worldwide, for example the chipset and device providers will receive huge increases in orders. The massive deployment and user base in China is set to drive demand for consumer and business 5G applications.
5G is also supercharging user experience. In South Korea, the first market to launch a commercial 5G network, local carriers have signed up more than 3.5 million 5G subscribers in less than six months. Much of this growth can be attributed to new services like 5G-powered AR/VR and live 360º HD sports broadcasting. With these services alone, data consumption among early 5G adopters has increased by a factor of three, up to 1.3Gb per day. With 5G now commercially available in China, and a huge increase in data usage expected by users, the industry is expecting exciting new consumer and enterprise applications to appear in 2020.
With more than 60 5G networks around the world predicted to go live by the end of the year, the global 5G rollout has begun in earnest. With operators in Japan, Singapore, The Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia all eyeing 5G launches in the coming 12 – 18 months, China’s own 5G rollout will set the tone and demonstrate best practice for operators across the region.
China’s communications vendors and carriers are leading the world in the 5G use in vertical industries. Huawei has completed extensive application exploration and practice with carriers and industry partners in the fields of mining, manufacturing, security protection, first aid, medical care, and education.
Huawei is working with all three of China’s mobile network operators to fast track the development of a range of industrial and consumer-based use cases. This work will help the operators make sustainable returns on their enormous 5G investments
As the three big Chinese mobile operators launch their next generation mobile network services across the country, supported by Huawei’s world leading 5G technology and the largest number of 5G subscribers in the world, China becomes the most advanced mobile market in the world as it fully gears up for the 5G era.
