5G base stations accounts for 33% of the total number of mobile base stations across China
Chinese mobile operators had deployed a total of 3.92 million 5G base stations by the end of June, local news agency Xinhua reported, citing the latest available data from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The ministry reported that Chinese telcos had installed a total of 540,000 5G base stations in the first half of the year.
Also, 5G base stations accounted for 33% of the total number of mobile base stations nationwide, according to the official data.
The report also noted that the number of 5G mobile subscribers in China increased by 105 million from the end of 2024 to reach 927 million as of the end of June. This figure accounted for 52.4% of the total mobile subscribers in China’s major telecommunication operators China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom and China Broadnet, which stood at nearly 1.78 billion by the end of June, according to the report.
Chinese operators have been rapidly deploying 5G services and this technology now covers every city and town in the country, as well as more than 90% of its villages, the ministry said earlier this month.
Since the issuance of China’s first batch of 5G licenses for commercial use five years ago, 5G technology has been integrated into various sectors such as industry, power, mining, healthcare and education. The report also highlighted that China has also built nearly 300 5G factories and launched over 13,000 projects for the application of 5G technology in industrial settings.
The ministry said last month that the commercialization of 5G services had generated a total economic output of approximately CNY5.6 trillion ($785 billion) in China over the past five years. The ministry also said that China would continue to advance 5G development and expand 5G network coverage in places such as cultural and tourism sites, healthcare facilities, universities, transportation hubs and subway systems.
China will boost efforts to commercially launch 5G-Advanced (5G-A) technologies, which will enable a wide range of applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in many sectors and will also pave the way for future 6G systems, Chinese officials and company executives recently said during different sessions at Mobile World Congress Shanghai, which took place earlier this year in the Chinese City.
2024 marks the commercial launch of 5G-A technology, which is seen as a key upgrade to the 5G network in terms of both functionality and coverage.
During his speech at the opening ceremony of Mobile World Congress Shanghai, Zhao Zhiguo, chief engineer of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stressed the importance of 5G-A as it will deepen the integration of current 5G technology with new-generation information technologies, especially AI.
The official also highlighted the need to leverage 5G to empower emerging industries such as intelligent connected vehicles and the low-altitude economy. The deployment of integrated sensing and passive internet of things technologies is essential for scenarios involving ubiquitous connectivity and high-end manufacturing, the official added.
In April, China Mobile said it plans to launch 5G-Advanced technology in over 300 cities across China this year, according to local press reports.
