Xiamen among first batch for 5G commercialization

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially rolled out commercial 5G licenses on June 6.

China's three major telco carriers — China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom — as well as state-owned China Broadcasting Network Corp were granted the licenses.

China Mobile and China Unicom have revealed 40 domestic cities, including Xiamen in eastern Fujian province, as the first batch to carry 5G services within this year.

Xiamen is taking some bold moves in 5G applications. The city's 5G-based cargo/passenger public transport hub, the first of its kind in China, kicked off recently. The city also plans to build a 5G-based eye hospital.

A report from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology showed that China's telecom carriers are forecast to spend 900 billion to 1.5 trillion yuan ($134 billion to $223 billion) in total on the construction of a 5G network from 2020 to 2025.

According to the Global System for Mobile Communications Association, China is set to become the world's biggest 5G market by 2025, with 460 million users.