China to Roll Out World’s Largest 5G Mobile Phone Network

[beijingwalker]

China to Roll Out World’s Largest 5G Mobile Phone Network

• Industry and technology ministry to announce debut Thursday
• Introduction to boost China’s role as technology power

China’s three state-owned wireless carriers will announce the introduction of 5G mobile phone services Thursday, a milestone in the country’s push to become a technology power even as it remains locked in a trade war with the U.S.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will unveil the service debuts at a technology exhibition in Beijing Thursday, a spokesman for the ministry said. Carriers will launch 5G commercially Nov. 1, the Beijing News reported last week.

Huawei Technologies Co. Operators in the U.S. have introduced the high-speed networks to parts of some cities, without using Huawei gear, and South Korea debuted its version in April, though China will quickly become the largest provider by virtue of its huge population and investment by the companies.

“While some other countries launched 5G services earlier this year, China will have the largest commercial operating 5G network in the world on Friday,” Chris Lane and other analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein. wrote in a note to clients Wednesday. “The scale of its network and the price of its 5G services will have a pivotal impact throughout the supply chain.”


Subscribers in China -- more than 10 million have pre-registered to take the service -- will have access to faster videos and games, more virtual reality applications and improved performance for mobile videoconferencing.

China Mobile Ltd., the largest carrier, will start the service at between 128 yuan ($18) and 598 yuan a month, with packages for the heaviest users priced similar to 4G plans, according to Bernstein. The carrier’s 4G plans start at 38 yuan a month and go up to 588 yuan. The two smaller carriers, China Telecom Corp. and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. will offer packages at comparable rates.

The largest cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen will get full coverage first. The three operators have projected a combined capital spending of 302 billion yuan this year.


China’s scale advantage is especially important when the U.S. has campaigned against other countries using equipment from Huawei, which it accuses of posing a security threat. Despite the U.S. pressure, Huawei said in July that it had signed more than 60 commercial contracts to supply 5G networks around the world, including at least 28 in Europe.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...l-out-world-s-largest-5g-mobile-phone-network

 

[beijingwalker]

China Is Launching Its 5G Network Ahead of Schedule and on a Spectrum the U.S. Can’t Yet Match
By Grady McGregor
October 31, 201

China is set to make 5G networks available to the masses earlier than expected, giving the country a significant upper hand in the ‘race’ against the U.S. for a 5G future.

At a technology conference in Beijing on Thursday, officials announced that China’s three major telecom providers will roll out commercial 5G services on Friday, two months ahead of plan. The initial launch will make the groundbreaking mobile Internet service available in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou. China's aim is to bring 5G to over 50 cities by the end of the year. The early introduction of 5G will immediately put China in contention for the world's largest 5G market.

“This puts China neck and neck with South Korea, as the largest 5G network in the world, based on the number of 5G base stations,” said Stephane Teral, an analyst at IHS Markit. “No-one is close to (China’s 5G footprint).”

Over the past few years, 5G has attracted significant attention from governments and industries for its vast potential.

Beyond promising to provide nearly instantaneous movie downloads to mobile phones, 5G networks are seen as a boon to the Internet of Things; they could lead to the mass adoption of self-driving cars, the mass availability of robotic surgeries, and the growth of smart cities outfitted with high-tech features like A.I.-powered traffic lights.

China is by no means the first country to release 5G technology to consumers. Over 40 countries around the world—and dozens of cities in the U.S.—already have some version of the mobile technology in use. Yet the introduction of 5G to China's domestic market stands apart because, unlike U.S. rollouts, its spectrum allows for the deployment of the technology on a massive scale.

Getting spectrums 'just right'
In the United States this year, providers such as AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile began making 5G networks available to consumers in select markets. Consumers with access to this technology have enjoyed lightning-fast Internet speeds, but these networks have depended on base stations that employ high-frequency spectrums.

High-frequency spectrums technically provide the fastest Internet speeds, but they cover a limited physical territory. In China and much of the rest of the world, 5G development has largely focused on low- to mid-frequency spectrums because base stations with lower-level spectrums can reach a larger surface area.

“You need a very good mix of bands, capacity bands, and coverage to fully deliver the promise of 5G,” said Teral. “At the moment, we have a U.S. market asking for one frequency while the rest of the world is asking for a common frequency." That, he said, has isolated the U.S. in this regard.

U.S. telecom carriers' focus on developing higher-frequency spectrums is due, in part, to the fact that lower-end spectrums are owned by the U.S. government and military. In recent months, the U.S. government has pushed to sell off mid-tier 5G spectrums, dubbed the ‘Goldilocks’ spectrum, in bids to spur 5G development on a more mass scale.

China has secured a “first maneuverer advantage” that may be difficult for the U.S. to overcome, said Alan Segal, director of the Digital and Cyberspace Policy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations. But China's head-start doesn't necessarily mean the U.S. won't compete in the future.

“Certainly when it comes to base stations, and rolling out some of the equipment right now, the United States is behind right now,” he said. “But when it comes to eventually developing the services and products that are going to come on 5G there’s no reason to think the U.S. won’t be the leader—if not extremely competitive with China.”

Making way for Huawei?
China’s commercialization of 5G will also provide a major boost to some of its largest technology companies, notably Huawei, which is responsible for building nearly half of the country’s 5G network.

“Huawei’s home turf is a huge market … so [it has] economies of scale, economies of scope that no-one else can enjoy,” Teral said. “That gives it leverage to go after other markets in the world, at least where it is not banned.”

For the last few years, Huawei has aggressively pursued contracts to build 5G around the world, even as the U.S. has begged other countries to reject the advances and ban the firm from operating within their borders, characterizing it as a security risk. Huawei has repeatedly denied U.S. claims that it provides the Chinese government access to foreign countries’ data.

Seemingly referring to the technology company, President Donald Trump on Monday said the U.S. was “in opposition to those who would use 5G as a tool to expand control of their own citizens and to sow discord among nations.”

Some countries like Australia and New Zealand have banned Chinese firms from building their 5G networks, which has provided an opportunity for other telecom firms to compete with Huawei’s 5G capabilities, said Teral.

“Ericsson and Nokia remain formidable competitors on the world stage,” Teral said. “They are flexing their muscles and taking opportunities left by Huawei (in countries where Huawei was banned).”

Noticeably absent from the discussion are any U.S. firms that are building 5G networks on the international stage. Segal says this—plus security concerns—may explain the U.S.’s harsh response to Huawei and its increasing global clout.

“A lot of it is also driven by the realization that (the U.S.) doesn’t have a manufacturer in this space, so, let’s try to slow the Chinese down,” Segal said. There's alarm in the U.S. that it's found itself in this position, he said.

https://fortune.com/2019/10/31/china-5g-rollout-spectrum/

 

[onebyone]

https://africa.cgtn.com/2019/10/31/...vRJ2K8BsO_zVioD_yt4LROxottqHEzJIibLNNrShmZMmM

 

[riscol]

US struggles with catching up to China's 5G so Pompeo is criticizing China today. The US is insecure and not capable of catching up to Chinese leading in wireless tech.

 

[beijingwalker]

Race for 5G heats up: China’s next-generation networks go online for as low as $18
PUBLISHED 5 HOURS AGOUPDATED 4 HOURS AGO

KEY POINTS

• China turned on its 5G networks ahead of schedule on Friday, after initially targeting a 2020 launch.
• China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile all unveiled 5G tariffs that start at around 128 yuan or $18 per month.
• Experts warned of a number of challenges to adoption including a lack of 5G capable handsets and tariffs being too expensive.
• China and the U.S. are locked in an ongoing trade war that has also turned into a battle over technological supremacy. 5G is one of the key battlegrounds.

China turned on its 5G networks ahead of schedule on Friday, as the country looks to push ahead with the next-generation technology amid its protracted trade war with the U.S.

5G promises super-fast data speeds that have the ability to support technologies like driverless cars.


China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile all unveiled 5G plans that start at around 128 yuan or $18 per month, but experts warned that the price could still be too high to drive wide-scale adoption.

The services offered by the state-owned carriers are all similar and go up to around 599 yuan per month for 300 gigabytes of data and 3,000 minutes of calls.

Initially, Chinese carriers were looking to begin the 5G rollout in 2020, but the time frame moved forward.

China and the U.S. are locked in an ongoing trade war that has also turned into a battle over technological supremacy.

The 5G space is one of the key battlegrounds and has become a politically charged topic. President Donald Trump said earlier this year that “the race to 5G is on and America must win.”

The U.S. has also put pressure on Chinese telecommunications equipment-maker Huawei, claiming its equipment poses a national security threat because it could be used by Beijing for espionage. Washington has also been seeking to convince other countries to ban the company from their 5G networks. Huawei has repeatedly denied its equipment could be used for spying.

5G commercial services are now available in 50 Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, state-backed publication Xinhua reported.

Besides China, South Korea is the only other country to have a nationwide rollout of 5G. In the U.S., AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint and have launched 5G networks but only in certain cities.

5G challenges ahead
China is on track to becoming the biggest 5G market in the world.

The country will account for the largest number of 5G connections by 2025, bigger than North America and Europe combined, according to mobile industry body GSMA. China will have 110 million 5G users in 2020, or 7% penetration versus 3% in South Korea now, Jefferies said in a note this week.

While excitement has been building around the 5G rollout, a number of challenges to adoption still remain.

5G services in China have been priced cheaper than 4G on a per gigabyte basis. Despite this, analysts are still concerned that 5G pricing could be too high.

Jefferies analyst Edison Lee said China’s 5G services per gigabyte are almost the same as South Korea’s despite the country having a lower per-capita income.

“We are amazed China’s 5G price plans give an average price per GB (US$0.39) that is almost identical to Korea’s (US$0.38),” Lee wrote.

“As China’s per-capita income is 69% below that of Korea, similar pricing would likely mean China will have a lower penetration than Korea,” he added.

Another challenge is the lack of 5G-capable handsets on the market.

In the premium segment, Huawei has its Mate 20 X 5G and Mate 30 devices which can connect to the next-generation networks while Samsung’s Note 10+ is also available. Chinese smartphone-makers Xiaomi, Vivo and ZTE also have 5G-capable handsets.

Ultimately, operators will need to convince users of the need to move to 5G. Some Chinese carriers have been offering discounts on certain devices to push consumers to upgrade to 5G.

“The real issue is: What does the consumer really see as the big difference between 4G versus 5G? ... For a lot of what consumers do today: very little, there won’t be much difference,” Vinod Nair, senior partner at advisory and investment firm Delta Partners, told CNBC. “That is why it is more challenging on the consumer side.”

“Right now the launch in the consumer market is on a large scale, the sheer number of cities and amount of 5G sites rolled out is quite massive in terms of this scale. That itself will ensure the initial experience is good,” Nair said.

“That, coupled with the pricing, as well as the handset subsidies, should make it easier to upgrade. Having said that, if the upgrades aren’t attractive it won’t be a fast upgrade cycle,” he added.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/01/china-5g-mobile-networks-go-online-as-race-with-us-heats-up.html

 

[beijingwalker]

 

[GS Zhou]

5G speed test @ Shanghai: 53.5 MB/S

Location: open street @ Shanghai
Phone: Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G
Telecom service: China Unicom

 

[Dungeness]

5G speed test @ Shanghai: 53.5 MB/S

Location: open street @ Shanghai
Phone: Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G
Telecom service: China Unicom

View attachment 587905

4G/3G coverage in China was impressive. I have never lost my data connection in China last July when I was travelling with my boys, even on the way to mountainous area like Zhangjiajie, Xiangxi, Fenghuang City. In contrast, I lost all signal barely 50 miles out of a major city in pacific northwest.

US struggles with catching up to China's 5G so Pompeo is criticizing China today. The US is insecure and not capable of catching up to Chinese leading in wireless tech.

US politicians should really stop this 24/7/365 China bashing. It only works in China's favor, as it only endorses China as a worthy Alternative that USA is so nevous about. I don't see Chinese politicians badmouthing USA on daily basis.

 

[beijingwalker]

US politicians should really stop this 24/7/365 China bashing. It only works in China's favor, as it only endorses China as a worthy Alternative that USA is so nevous about. I don't see Chinese politicians badmouthing USA on daily basis.

Because Chinese politicians have so much work to do, so many deadlines to meet to develop the country and get people rich, while US politicians full time job is to badmouth China and their political rivals.

 

[Beast]

Because Chinese politicians have so much work to do, so many deadlines to meet to develop the country and get people rich, while US politicians full time job is to badmouth China and their political rivals.

美国人喜欢做损人不利己的事。没了优势，就这么干。

 

[hirobo2]

Suck. High frequency 5G used by US (vs China's mid to low freq) will cause health problems not yet documented.

 

[8888888888888]

So there will be more cancer in USA ?????

 

[hirobo2]

So there will be more cancer in USA ?????

It's the same like EM catapults, etc. USA will choose the more suckier, problematic solution while China the opposite spectrum.