China Unicom to start testing 5G networks in cities across China

China Unicom, one of the three major telecom service providers in China, announced on Tuesday that it will rollout test 5G networks in seven Chinese mainland cities.

The carrier will build the test networks in core areas of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Xiong'an as well as in small areas in 33 other cities.

China Unicom's 5G brand is unveiled during the 5G Innovative Development Forum in Shanghai on April 23, 2019. [Photo: chinaunicom.com.cn]

China Unicom also released a plan to recruit volunteers for the test sites during the 5G Innovative Development Forum in Shanghai and launched its new brand for its 5G services.

Zhang Feng, the chief engineer with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that 5G technologies will boost the upgrading of traditional industries, especially the manufacturing industries, and that progress has already been made in the areas of the Industrial Internet and the Internet of Vehicles.

China Unicom's 5G brand is unveiled during the 5G Innovative Development Forum in Shanghai on April 23, 2019. [Photo: chinaunicom.com.cn]

China Mobile and China Telecom, the country's two other major telecom service providers, were licensed by the government to start testing their own 5G networks in 2018.

Last week, China Mobile successfully completed the first phone call using its 5G network in Beijing.