Chinese operators are on track to launch commercial 5G networks by 2020 and are expected to establish China as the world\u2019s largest 5G market by 2025.<\/p>\n
Organised by the GSMA and held each year in the business hub of Shanghai, China, Mobile World Congress is a mobile event like no other, bringing together the worldwide mobile industry from C-level mobile executives to tech-savvy consumers to experience a connected life full of exciting new technologies and products.<\/p>\n
MWC Shanghai is Asia\u2019s premier event that industry professionals and tech-savvy consumers should attend. The four-day exhibition runs alongside a three day industry-leading conference, and attracts thousands of C-level attendees and decision makers from the world\u2019s largest and most influential companies. Anyone in business will find relevant learning and networking opportunities from this event, and consumers will get a chance to explore and experience everything related to mobile, including devices, drones, virtual reality, gaming, sports tech and much more.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the big news in Shanghai is the announcement that Chinese operators are on track to launch commercial 5G networks by 2020 and are expected to establish China as the world\u2019s largest 5G market by 2025, according to a new study by GSMA Intelligence and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT). The new study \u20185G in China: Outlook and Regional Comparisons\u2019, which was published at GSMA Mobile World Congress Shanghai, explores the near-term outlook for the testing and commercial launches of new 5G networks in China and other advanced Asia markets, and the potential 5G use cases for both the consumer and enterprise markets. \u201cOperators in China are collaborating closely with government and enterprises to launch what will become one of the largest 5G deployments in the world,\u201d said Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA. \u201cIn its early phase, 5G will offer an enhanced mobile broadband experience that will enable next-generation consumer services such as augmented and virtual reality, while at the same supporting mission-critical applications across a range of industry verticals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mobile operators in China plan to run a phased testing period for 5G networks from 2017 to 2019 before launching commercially in 2020. Following commercial deployment, it is forecast that 5G connections in China will reach 428 million by 2025, accounting for 39 per cent of the 1.1 billion global 5G connections expected by that point. Chinese operators are expected to deploy \u2018standalone\u2019 5G networks, which will require the construction of new base stations to site 5G equipment, backhaul links and a core network. However, the report notes that another option being considered in several other Asia markets is to deploy \u2018non-standalone\u2019 5G networks that would run on existing infrastructure supplemented by targeted small cell deployment in areas of high density, allowing 4G and 5G services to run in parallel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
4G penetration is China has increased fivefold to 61 per cent over the two-year period to March 2017 and there remains significant headroom for 4G growth. As a result, 4G and 5G networks are expected to co-exist in China for a considerable period of time. The rate of 5G network rollout and adoption in China is also expected to be slower than it was for 4G, which Chinese operators were able to deploy rapidly earlier this decade within a mature 4G ecosystem. On capex, indications from the Chinese mobile operators are that 5G investment will follow a more gradual path and over a longer timeframe than 4G, roughly seven years, from 2018 to 2025 \u2013 with capex not expected to account for more than 25 per cent of operator revenue prior to commercial launch. 5G Delivering New Consumer Services and Transforming the Enterprise\u00a0<\/p>\n
In their early phase, 5G networks will concentrate on boosting the capacity of 4G networks to support rising cellular data traffic demands. 5G will also enable enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services such as 4K\/8K Ultra-HD video and augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications. Although some services will require devices with new form factors, the smartphone is expected to remain the principal 5G interface at launch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first 5G smartphones are likely to be priced at a premium to 4G models, as they will require an enhanced chipset and RF module supporting multiple sub-6 GHz, and possibly extremely high frequency bands (mmWave), as well as, potentially, a 4K or 8K screen. Meanwhile, it is the enterprise space that is considered to offer operators the largest incremental revenue opportunity. Operators are collaborating with the broader mobile ecosystem and vertical industry players to develop new services and business models that will utilise 5G networks. 5G will support applications that require massive scale or are mission-critical and therefore demand low latency. Key vertical markets for 5G applications include automotive and transport, logistics, energy and utilities monitoring, security, finance, healthcare, industrial, and agriculture. The new report \u20185G in China: Outlook and Regional Comparisons\u2019 is co-authored by GSMA Intelligence, the research arm of the GSMA, and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Chinese operators are on track to launch commercial 5G networks by 2020 and are expected to establish China as the world\u2019s largest 5G market by 2025. Organised by the GSMA and held each year in the business hub of Shanghai, China, Mobile World Congress is a mobile event like no other, bringing together the worldwide\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2531,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_scj_primary_category_id":136,"_scj_featured":true,"_scj_featured_from":"","_scj_featured_until":"","_scj_featured_order":2222,"_scj_visibility_class":"current","_scj_layout_family":"standard","_scj_article_style":"","_scj_display_overrides":[],"_scj_intro_image_id":2531,"_scj_intro_alt":"MWC Shanghai","_scj_intro_caption":"","_scj_intro_class":"","_scj_intro_float":"","_scj_full_image_id":2531,"_scj_full_alt":"MWC Shanghai","_scj_full_caption":"MWC Shanghai","_scj_full_class":"","_scj_full_float":"","_scj_media_type":"","_scj_media_provider":"","_scj_media_external_id":"","_scj_media_url":"","_scj_media_poster_id":0,"_scj_media_width":0,"_scj_media_height":0,"_scj_media_aspect_ratio":"","_scj_media_description":"","_scj_gallery_items":[],"_scj_related_post_ids":[],"_scj_additional_authors":[],"scj_layout_family":"standard","scj_media_provider":"","scj_media_url":"","scj_full_caption":"MWC Shanghai","footnotes":""},"categories":[136],"tags":[4235,4167,4155],"class_list":["post-3653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-5g","tag-big-data","tag-smart-systems"],"yoast_head":"\n