Mobile operators plan to add around 600,000 5G base stations across China this year
China is forecasted to end this year with a total of 2.9 million 5G base stations, local state news agency Xinhua reported, citing the Minister of Industry and Information Technology Jin Zhuanglong.
According to the official, Chinese mobile operators plan to add around 600,000 5G base stations this year, and expand the coverage of 5G services in rural areas and industrial parks. China currently has over 2.34 million 5G base stations.
Jin also said that efforts will be made to promote industrial application of 5G, especially in manufacturing, with plans to build more than 10,000 5G factories during the 2021-2025 period.
Shenzhen, a southern tech hub in Guangdong Province, aims to add 10,000 5G base stations this year as part of a plan to bolster internet connectivity and digital economic activity in the city, according to a recent press report.
The Shenzhen municipal government’s Industry and Information Technology Bureau recently unveiled an action plan which involves upgrading 5G mobile services and promoting a wider adoption of its gigabit Ethernet fiber optic network, according to the report.
The city had over 64,000 5G base stations at the end of December, according to the latest official statistics.
China’s main financial hub, Shanghai, will also deploy an additional 10,000 5G base stations this year, according to recent press reports.
With this planned expansion, the total number of 5G base stations in Shanghai will reach 77,000 by the end of 2023. Meanwhile, fiber optic networks will cover 2,000 office buildings and all newly-constructed smart factories, said the Shanghai Communications Administration.
Also, 5G data traffic is expected to represent over 60% of the total telecommunications traffic in Shanghai by 2023.
By the end of 2023, 5G applications will cover over 30% of education, medical, culture and tourism industries in Shanghai, and over 35% of large-scale industrial firms, according to the local administration.
Meanwhile, China’s capital, Beijing, had a total of 63,000 5G base stations as of the end of July 2022.
Chinese operators recorded a net gain of 16.53 million 5G subscribers in January, according to the operators’ latest available statistics.
China Mobile, the world’s largest operator in terms of subscribers, added a total of 8.46 million 5G subscribers during the first month of the year. The carrier said it ended last month with 622.47 million 5G subscribers. China Mobile added a total of 227.2 million subscribers in the 5G segment during 2022.
Meanwhile, China Telecom added 5 million 5G subscribers last month to take its total 5G subscribers base to 273 million. During 2022, the telco added a total of 80.16 million 5G subscribers.
Rival operator China Unicom said it added a total of 3.07 million 5G subscribers during last month. The carrier ended January with 215.8 million 5G subscribers. China Unicom added over 42 million subscribers in the 5G segment during 2022.
