China has more say in 5G standardization: NPC deputy

The next-generation of wireless communications has been developing rapidly in China.

Deputies of this year's National People's Congress have said China will make a huge contribution to the creation of the 5G international standard.

A logo of 5G at a stand during an exhibition in Beijing, China, 27 September 2017. [Photo: IC]

China has kicked off the third phase of its testing of the new global technology in Huairou District, Beijing, aiming to develop pre-commercial 5G products before the new communications standard is officially rolled out.

This shows the country has accelerated its efforts to gain a lead in the race toward commercializing 5G.

Independent telecom expert and analyst Fu Liang said that instead of playing catch-up like what China did with the previous 3G or 4G technology, China is now among the first adopters of 5G development.

He said "in the telecom industry, China previously played the role of a follower rather than a leader. The issue of 3G licensing in China was nearly 10 years behind the leading countries and around five years late in the issue of 4G licenses. But in 5G development, China along with the US, Japan and South Korea now leads the world. If the 5G standard can be set in June, China will be able to unveil the 5G license late next year, on a par with other leading countries."

Fu added China's active involvement in 5G development is due to the revolutionary changes the technology will make to people's lives.

Stats predict that 5G allows connection speeds up to 100 times faster than 4G and has a much higher data capacity, permitting the connection of a far greater number of devices.

NPC deputy Yang Zhen, also the president of Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications. [Photo: China Plus]

5G will rev up the application of the "Internet of things" or IoT thanks to its super-fast Internet speed.

Another NPC deputy Yang Zhen, also the president of Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, explained how the technology will change our lives.

He said "in the era of the Internet, people can upload information onto the internet, which is a virtual society connecting people to people. However, in the age of 'IoT', almost everything around you can be installed with sensors and a huge quantity of things will be connected together, that 4G cannot support. While this is a breakthrough 5G will make, it will allow an unimaginable scale of things to be included in one network."

Yang added that 5G will provide support to smooth control over driverless cars. This is because the technology is capable of reducing the time-lag for information exchanges to less than a millisecond. It props up the coming of the age of artificial intelligence.

To gain more opportunities in the era, Chinese companies including telecom carriers, equipment providers and phone makers have already made achievements with new research.

Chinese mobile giant Huawei unveiled its first 5G chip last month at the Mobile World Congress, while Shenzhen-based ZTE launched the prototype of its 5G-compatible phone.

China's largest telecom carrier China Mobile has announced its plans to build the world's largest 5G test network.

Guo Yonghong, chairman of China Mobile in Chongqing and also a national legislator. [Photo: China Plus]

Guo Yonghong, chairman of China Mobile in Chongqing and also a national legislator, shed some lights on the endeavors China has made in the development of 5G technology.

He said "China has started to build a massive nationwide 5G test network since last year, in a move to conduct both the technical and systematic test. The field tests will be conducted in five cities. Nine 5G innovation centers have been established, primarily focusing on the application of Internet of Vehicles and Internet of Things. As a result, China is leading over 30 percent of the 5G standard settings."

Deputy Yang Zhen said that China has more say in the 5G standardization.

He said "With its strong technological strength, huge market and excellent network foundation, China possesses the prerequisites in broader participation in the formulating of the 5G international standards. The government attaches great importance to 5G development, so I would say China will have a very strong voice in this regard."

The government work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang said China will speed up work to build itself into a leader in manufacturing, by, among other things, promoting the development of 5G mobile communications.