38 BEIJING REVIEW AUGUST 1, 2019 http://www.bjreview.comA
s an economic powerhouse in south
China, Guangdong Province, a front-
runner in reform and opening up,
has now taken a new lead in developing
fifth-generation (5G) industries. According
to a plan issued by the local authorities in
May, the province’s 5G industrial output
targets to cross 300 billion yuan ($43.6 bil-
lion) by 2020, making it the most ambitious
domestic player in 5G development.
Provinces and regions are ratcheting
up efforts to develop action plans and
improve their telecom base stations after
the Ministry of Industry and Information
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es for commercial use on June 6. The three
major telecom operators—China Telecom,
China Mobile and China Unicom—as well
as China Broadcasting Network became
the first batch of companies to get the
green light.
But even before the licenses were is-
sued, Henan Province in central China
and cities such as Beijing had unveiled 5G
development plans, followed by Jinan inShandong Province, Shanghai and Hunan
Province.
Peng Jian, a researcher with CCID
Think Tank under MIIT, told 21st Century
Business Herald that 5G technologies will
give a new impetus to many other indus-
tries besides telecom, leading to their
industrial upgrade.
“Since the conditions tend to vary in
different regions, 5G development plans
need to be in line with local industrial
growth,” Peng said.The pioneers
With a data transfer speed at least 10 times
faster than 4G technology’s, the 5G mobile
network will generate a blue ocean mar-
ket. According to mobile communications
industry body GSMA, China is expected to
become the world’s largest 5G market by
2025 with 430 million 5G connections, one
third of the global total.
5G technologies are expected to
create more than 8 million jobs and gen-
erate an industrial output of 6.3 trillionyuan ($916 billion) in China by 2030,
the China Academy of Information and
Communications Technology estimated.
As 5G commercialization starts, many
cities and provinces are expanding their 5G
networks amid rising competition to seize
5G market shares.
By the end of June, over 8,900 base
stations had been established across
Guangdong. Local authorities said
Guangzhou, capital of the province, had
opened 5,000 5G base stations as of May.
By the end of this year, it will build 14,600
more.
The 5G network will boost the devel-
opment of industries such as electronic
manufacturing and artificial intelligence,
the value of which will total 800 billion yuan
($116.24 billion) by 2021, the Guangzhou
authorities said.
An action plan on the development of
the province’s 5G industry issued in May
shows that its 5G industrial output is ex-
pected to reach more than 300 billion yuan
($43.6 billion) by 2020.
As a key host of major international
events, Beijing is also developing its 5G net-
work. By the end of June, it built over 5,000
5G base stations in urban core zones, the
Beijing Daxing International Airport, the
International Horticultural Expo 2019 (April
29-October 7) and at the city venues of the
2022 Winter Olympics, Beijing municipal
telecom authorities said on July 17.
According to the administration, the
city is expected to achieve full 5G cover-
age including central business districts and
suburb innovation centers.Doctors from multiple
hospitals in southwest China’s
Guizhou Province conduct
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diagnosis on April 10XIN
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AConnecting Generations
Cities and provinces in China race to cash in on 5G By Li Xiaoyang
BUSINESS