China Coming on Strong in 5G Despite COVID-19, GSMA Told
GSMA opened its China conference Tuesday with speakers from Chinese companies under fire in the U.S., including Huawei and China Mobile. The conference is completely virtual, which was unimaginable a year ago, said Mats Granryd, GSMA director general. “This pandemic has highlighted to the world what we have all known for decades, the true relevance of robust and resilient mobile networks.”
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Speakers said the move to 5G is accelerating in China and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region. “It’s striking how quickly 5G stand-alone has been moving compared to predictions,” Granryd said.
Mobile providers played a critical role in fighting COVID-19 and are now helping most of the world reopen, said Huawei Rotating Chairman Guo Ping. GSMA proposed that 5G become “the backbone for recovery in some regions,” Guo said: “We could not agree more and will work tirelessly to make this a reality.”
In 68 days, South Korea added 1 million 5G subscribers, and 5G apps such as temperature sensing helped the country curb infections, Guo said. South Korea is using roaming data to identify the movement of COVID-19 cases, he said. “They have achieved very impressive results.”
The pandemic made clear how essential mobile connections are and allowed conferences like the "GSMA Thrive" event, so discussions can continue, said Qualcomm President Cristiano Amon. “It has really enabled most of us to stay connected, to stay productive." 5G is being built out despite COVID-19, with more than 60 operators deploying and 320 more making investments, Amon said. There will be 750 million 5G smartphones in use as early as 2022, he predicted. Qualcomm predicts 1 billion 5G connections in 2023, “two years faster than the 4G transition,” he said. “We don’t have to explain anymore the 5G use cases,” he said.
Some 1.3 billion people are using mobile for healthcare and there are 1 billion mobile money accounts, Granryd said. 5G is advancing in the Asia-Pacific, Granryd said: Nine markets have launched and 12 more are planned. While 4G still “has plenty of room to grow,” 5G connections in the region are expected to hit 1.1 billion by 2025, 23% of connections, he said. Operators there are expected to spend almost $500 billion on their networks 2019-2025, he said. Despite growth, the region's digital divide is real, with 240 million people without mobile internet and another 1.9 billion not using wireless broadband, he said.
China Telecom is fully committed to 5G, said CEO Ruiwen Ke. Standalone 5G “can increase the performance of networks” and “this will lead to quantum change in communications,” he said. 5G stand-alone “introduces cloud-based architectures and technologies” which changes the architecture of networks, he said. It means network slicing, edge computing, big data and artificial intelligence, he said. The 5G network “is the precondition and basis for the connection of everything in the internet,” he said.
The next version of 5G, Release 16, is essential for expanding the use of the new generation of wireless, including vehicle-to-everything in the auto industry and deployment of private networks, Amon said. It should be ready in weeks, he said. Amon also stressed the importance of regulators making more spectrum in the low, mid and high bands.
“We are seeing the continued explosion of energy in the Chinese market for 5G development and innovation,” said Sihan Bo Chen, GSMA head-Greater China. The world is seeing a slowdown in growth due to COVID-19, but by 2021 GSMA expects 5G deployment to hit growth targets, she said. Governments are increasing investments in infrastructure in response to negative economic effects, she said.