China Mobile forges tie-ups in 5G push

China Mobile, the largest telecom operator in China, is partnering with dozens of companies, including Huawei Technologies Co and Qualcomm Inc, to unveil an action plan for 5G evolution technologies over the next five years.

The tie-ups coincide with the global telecom industry's active exploration of ways to evolve 5G technologies for technical improvements and wider commercial use, following the progress made globally in rolling out superfast 5G networks.

China Mobile said the 5G Advanced Innovation and Industry Chain Integration Action Plan is designed to clarify the goals and key measures of promoting 5G advanced technologies, lower industry thresholds and provide continuous momentum for the healthy development of the entire industry.

The company proposed three major targets for the action plan: building advanced capable network; advanced intelligent system; and advanced energy-efficient industry.

Such goals take cognizance of China's 916,000 5G base stations as at mid-July, which account for 70 percent of the world's total. The number of 5G connections has exceeded 365 million, accounting for 80 percent of the world's total.

Duan Xiaodong, deputy head of the research institute at China Mobile, said the company has built about 36 percent of the world's 5G base stations so far.

"China Mobile took the lead in building a 5G network with the largest scale and the most advanced networking model in the world. The company also has the world's largest 5G user base so far," Duan said, adding the company has nearly 250 million 5G subscribers as of May.

China Mobile's 5G efforts are consistent with China's attempts to popularize 5G services nationwide. The nation aims to nurture 560 million 5G mobile subscribers by the end of 2023, and grow the penetration rate of the superfast wireless technology among big industrial enterprises to 35 percent by then, according to a three-year plan jointly unveiled by 10 government bodies in July.

In addition to China Mobile, China Unicom, another major telecom operator in the nation, is working to promote advanced 5G technologies.

Ma Hongbing, general manager of the technology innovation department at China Unicom, said 5G faces a historic opportunity to promote the transformation of China into a smart society. China's 5G development leads the world.

To meet the business needs of the next five years, a five-year plan for the evolution of advanced 5G technologies is necessary, he said.

China Unicom and Huawei have identified three new industry tracks for the future, and proposed three major advanced 5G technologies, including intelligent new vision for XR virtual interaction, and smart super-sensing for new industries such as high-precision positioning, the internet of vehicles, drones, and smart driving, Ma said.

XR technology is an umbrella category that covers various forms of computer-altered reality, including augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality.

Ding Yun, president of Huawei's carrier business group, said 5G will move toward a high-quality development stage. In the future, 5G's application scenarios will become more diversified, and the wireless technology itself needs to evolve constantly, so as to develop new capabilities to achieve intelligent connection of all things.