(JW Insights) Jun 29 -- China has built the world's largest and most advanced broadband network with over 650 million fifth-generation mobile phone subscribers and more than 2.84 million 5G base stations, said Zhao Zhiguo, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on June 28, Yicai Global reported.

5G networks and gigabit optical networks are being deeply integrated with the real economy in 60 key industries including manufacturing, power and transportation, Zhao Zhiguo said at the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai.

5G-related industries have also greatly improved their technical capabilities, creating a full industrial chain that covers base stations, terminals, chips and core networks, Zhao said.

5G technology is entering a new phase of ‘5G-Advanced’ as it combines with cloud computing, artificial intelligence and other technologies, and this is a key focus at the congress.

“5G development has reached a critical point. 5G’s potential in consumption should be fully leveraged to find new application breakthroughs,” Wu Hequan, a scholar at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said at the 5G Development and Innovation Forum held just before the Mobile World Congress.

Virtual reality, augmented reality and the Internet of Vehicles will become core consumer applications in the 5G era, especially with their demand for low latency and high bandwidth, which will promote the 5G-Advanced stage, Wu said.

5G-Advanced has moved from standardization to implementation, and it is important to link 5G-Advanced standards with 6G standards, and to continue to use standards to drive technology forwards, said Wen Ku, chair of the China Communications Standards Association.

The next step is to keep up the pace of 5G network construction, invest more, boost network supply capacity and provide good conditions for innovations in applications, Wen added, according to the Yicai Global report.

(Yuan XY/Gao J)