A concept photo of 6G technology Illustration: VCG

 

China will accelerate the use of 5G in industries and ramp up research and development of 6G mobile technology, Jin Zhuanglong, minister of industry and information technology, said at an industry exhibition event on Sunday.

The ministry will speed up the construction of 5G enabled industrial internet, expand 5G application scenarios, and vigorously develop the intelligent, green and integrated manufacturing sector, Jin said at the opening ceremony of the 31st China International Information and Communication Exhibition.

China will seek forward-looking arrangements in frontier areas such as next-generation internet, and comprehensively promote 6G research and development, Jin said.

The ministry will support enterprises to increase their investment in R&D and accelerate the development of emerging digital frontiers such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing and more, Jin said.

Dong Xin, China Mobile CEO, said the company will leverage new technologies, accelerate the evolution of 5G to integrate with "the sky and ocean" in order to enhance China's industrial strength.

China Mobile is leading in nearly 200 international 5G standards and applied for more than 4,100 mobile technology patents, ranking first among global peers, according to a statement sent by the company to the Global Times.

Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Information Consumption Alliance, an industry association, told the Global Times on Sunday that China would promote 5G use in a wide range of  industries this year such as coal mining, ports management and new manufacturing.

China is making steady progress in improving its 5G networks. As of the end of April, the total number of 5G base stations deployed stood at 2.73 million, the most in the world.

The number of 5G subscribers is also growing rapidly. As of the end of April, the number of 5G mobile phone users of China's three telecom giants — China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom — had reached 634 million, a net increase of 73.08 million from the end of 2022.

In terms of 6G, Xiang said that China may take the lead in defining the areas where 6G could be used in 2023.

Compared with the previous generations of the internet, 6G would be able to cover more areas such as deserts and oceans, operate faster and be more intelligent to allocate traffic according to real-time demand, Xiang said.

"It is expected that the China will be able to set the standards for 6G in 2028 and achieve actual use of 6G by 2030," Xiang said.