China’s 5G buildout on track after being slowed by Covid-19 outbreak, minister says
- China is currently adding about 10,000 new 5G base stations a week after a brief slowdown during peak of Covid-19, says minister
China is currently adding about 10,000 new 5G wireless base stations a week across the country after a brief slowdown in buildout during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Miao Wei, minister at China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
“Due to adverse effects caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, construction slowed in February and March,” Miao said during a ministerial press conference on Monday on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress, China’s most important annual political event, adding that construction was now “back on track”.
China has accelerated the buildout of 5G mobile networks in 2020 as a part of a larger digital infrastructure stimulus package to help transform its economy via next generation technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and the internet of things. 5G is seen as the connective tissue for this new tech, offering faster download speeds and reduced latency, enabling services such as autonomous driving and enhanced online health care and education.
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China’s top three carriers China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom, together provide mobile communication services to 1.6 billion subscribers in China. They had built nearly 200,000 5G base stations as of the end of March, as part of an annual target of 500,000, according to data from the MIIT.
The buildout requires heavy investment though. Zhang Yunyong, CPPCC member and president of the China Unicom Research Institute, said in an interview last week with state-run media Securities Daily that it needs to build 10 million 5G base stations in total to achieve complete coverage in the country, which will require about 2 trillion yuan (US$280 billion) of investment.
Miao said that 5G networks have already shown their worth in the fight against Covid-19, enabling tele-health consultations and the rapid transfer of high-definition chest scans.
