China Telecom Photo:CFP

 
China Telecom, one of the big three Chinese mobile operators, officially announced on Tuesday that its 5G Short Messaging Service (SMS) has entered commercial use, with individuals receiving messages for free but paying to send them, an official from the company said during a conference on 5G messaging.

Zhang Xiaojun, an official from the China Telecom marketing department, said that the firm has set up a 5G messaging platform as well as a support system to ensure security. 

Experts noted that as an SMS upgrade, customers can use it not only to send text, pictures, audio and video, but can also enjoy services such as buying tickets, checking express logistics, and paying for coal, electricity, water and gas.

Zhang said that for individuals, 5G SMS is based on cell phone numbers and there is no need to download other applications. For enterprises, it can help to reduce the customer acquisition cost and offer more comprehensive services. 
　
According to Zhang, China Telecom has expanded the coverage of 5G messaging terminals and strengthened industry cooperation. 

Tang Ke, a senior official from the company, said that it will make 5G messaging a new portal for digital services as well as strengthening the integration of 5G messaging with new technologies such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, big data and blockchain to accelerate the digital upgrading and transformation of China's industries.

In April 2020, China's three major carriers - China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom - jointly released a white paper on 5G Messaging, elaborating on its core concept and clarifying related business functions and technical requirements, as well as putting forward a number of ideas for the construction of 5G messaging ecology.

In November 2020, China Mobile offered 5G messaging for commercial trials in some of its 15 demonstration provinces, and China Unicom launched a nationwide 5G messaging trial on November 8.