A staff member demonstrates 5G-based remote control of a robot during the 2019 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, Aug. 29, 2019. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

China Broadcasting Network Corp (CBN), a cable TV operator and a new telecom carrier, has received investment of more than 100 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) from 47 companies, and it's expected to use the funds to promote the development of China's 5G.

On Wednesday night, 11 listed Chinese companies said they're going to invest in CBN, taking the total number of shareholders to 47, including big industry names such as Alibaba Group.

According to a report by stcn.com, state-owned State Grid Information and Communication Industry Group and Alibaba each invested 10 billion yuan, for stakes of a 9.88 percent, while the largest shareholder, the state-owned China Radio and Television Network Co, invested more than 51.6 billion yuan, accounting for 51 percent.

Other investors include China's provincial broadcasting networks.

CBN received its commercial 5G carrier license in June last year at the same time as the country's big three telecom operators - China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom.

CBN is expected to work on the integration of telecommunications, the internet and broadcasting networks, known as the tri-net, and use it as a way to gain market share.

With the participation of CBN, the unified operation and management of the national cable TV network could be realized, and the company is expected to build an ultrafast 5G network with radio and TV characteristics and empower the cable TV signal transmissions, according to the stcn report.

"The news will surely be a boost for the country's telecom as well as capital market," Liu Dingding, an industry analyst, told the Global Times Thursday.

But whether it could have any major impact on the country's 5G sector and boost its development is to be seen, said Liu, noting that China's 5G users' experience is waiting to be improved. 

China is expected to have 576 million 5G users by 2025, equal to more than 40 percent of the global industry by then, according to EY data.


Newspaper headline: Investors pour $14.5b into CBN to boost 5G sector