Chinese carriers already provides full 5G coverage in 52 key business areas and key scenic spots across Beijing
China’s capital Beijing had completed the construction of nearly 54,000 5G base stations by the end of April, Chinese press reported. According to Gu Jinxu, deputy head of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, Beijing has already completed full coverage of 5G technology in 52 key business areas and key scenic spots across Beijing.
Gu also said that Beijing will make efforts to implement key projects, facilitate key tasks, provide services to certain companies, and conduct research on innovation policies to further stimulate the innovation and creativity of the digital economy.
China’s main financial hub Shanghai had deployed 51,716 5G base stations by the end of April, with 20.8 5G base stations per 10,000 residents, according to previous press reports.
Also, the city of Shanghai had built 8.2 5G base stations per square kilometer as of the end of April, according to the Shanghai Communications Administration.
Chinese operators have already invested CNY12.3 billion ($1.82 billion) in 5G infrastructure since June 2019, accounting for 32.8% of total investments in the telecommunications sector since that date.
The Shanghai branches of China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom had ended April with more than 9.3 million 5G mobile phone users, accounting for 21.3% of the total.
Meanwhile, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in a statement that Chinese carriers have already installed 1.7 million 5G base stations across the country. According to the MIIT, China’s 5G network has now covered all prefecture-level cities and county towns and 92% of towns and townships, with more than 12 5G base stations per 10,000 people.
Earlier this year, MIIT unveiled plans to more than triple the number of 5G base stations over the next four years, targeting a total of 3.64 million by end-2025. Under this plan, China aims to have 26 5G base stations for every 10,000 people by the end of 2025. In comparison, in 2020, there were five 5G base stations for every 10,000 people in China.
China ended May with a total of 899.3 million subscribers in the 5G segment, according to the carriers’ latest available figures.
Chinese operators recorded a net gain of 30.18 million 5G subscribers in May.
China Mobile, the world’s largest operator in terms of subscribers, added a total of 18.21 million 5G subscribers during last month. The operator said it ended May with 495.13 million 5G subscribers, compared to 221.95 million 5G customers in May 2021.
China Mobile had added a total of 108.32 million subscribers in the 5G segment during the first five months of the year. Rival operator China Unicom said it added a total of 4.93 million 5G subscribers during May. The carrier ended the month with 179.70 million 5G subscribers. Meanwhile, China Telecom added 7.04 million 5G subscribers last month to take its total 5G subscribers base to 224.47 million. During the first five months of the year, the telco had added a total of 36.67 million 5G subscribers.
