China’s 5G connections hit 365 million

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The country has completed the construction of the world's largest 5G standalone network and has 70% of all 5G base stations.

wei zhu from Pixabay
(Image credit: wei zhu from Pixabay)

As China pushes forward 5G network construction, the number of 5G terminal connections in the country has reached 365 million, accounting for 80 percent of the world's total, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Tian Yulong, chief engineer at the MIIT, said that China has completed the construction of the world's largest 5G standalone network and cited figures that so far some 961,000 5G base stations have been built across the country, according to source, Xinhua. The numbers have increased from 310 million terminals and 819,000 base stations recorded in May. This means that China’s 5G base stations account for 70 percent of the world's total.

128 million 5G phones shipped in first half of 2021

Shipments of 5G phones in China surged to 100.9 percent year on year to 128 million units in the first half of 2021, according to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), a research institute under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

This volume accounted for 73.4 percent of China’s total mobile phone shipments during the period, said the CAICT. In the first six months of this year, the overall mobile phone shipments in China maintained significant growth, rising 13.7 percent year on year to 174 million units.

5G users to exceed 560 million by 2023

Since its commercialisation two years ago, 5G technology has played an important role in China with fields including industrial production, energy and medical services. According to Xinhua, Tian said that 5G had driven forward the digital transformation in China's economy and society and development of the digital economy.

China expects to grow 5G phones subscriptions to in excess of 560 million by 2023, and grow the penetration rate of 5G among big industrial enterprises to 35 percent by then, revealed a three-year plan published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and nine other government bodies.

Rachael Sharpe
Rachael Sharpe

Rachael is a British journalist with 17 years experience in the publishing industry. Since launching www.digitalcameraworld.com, she’s been freelancing, and working for some of the world’s best-loved websites and magazines including T3.com and TechRadar.com and has also had a book, iPad for Photographers, published. A regular contributor at 5Gradar, Rachael is following the 5G market closely. Find out more at www.rachaelsharpe.com