Domestic technology giant Huawei has urged operators to trust its fifth-generation (5G) vision as it has shipped over 10,000 base stations globally, which experts said shows that China is expected to lead the game in 5G network development, because all links in the nation's industry are strong.
Huawei has told operators its 5G connections have achieved milestones in development and commercialization is also accelerating.
"154 mobile operators in 66 countries and regions around the world are conducting 5G technical testing or field testing. Huawei has shipped more than 10,000 5G base stations to customers around the world," said Ken Hu, rotating chairman of Huawei, at the Huawei Mobile Broadband Forum (MBBF) in London on Tuesday, according to the press release Huawei sent to the Global Times Wednesday.
"5G is still in the testing phase now, and large-scale commercialization is expected in the second half of 2019," Xiang Ligang, chief executive of Chinese telecoms industry news website cctime.com, told the Global Times Wednesday.
"The number of 10,000 5G base stations is just a beginning. By 2025, millions of 5G base stations are expected to be built across the world," Xiang said.
"According to GSMA figures, 110 markets in the world will deploy 5G facilities," said Hu at the MBBF. "5G innovation is bringing information and communications technology to a whole new level. Revolutionary change is expected to be seen in all walks of life in the coming 5G era."
GSMA, or GSM Association, is a trade body that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide.
Xiang said that transformation caused by 4G has already been reflected in all walks of life, and the 5G world will be more intelligent. All things will be connected by the network.
"China is already leading 4G development," Xiang said. "We have witnessed and lived through the great transformations of bicycle-sharing, online car-hailing and mobile payments, which are all based on 4G technology."
"5G is ready in three key areas of availability, economy and application," Hu said. "However, 5G has met obstacles in terms of spectrum and site resources."
Hu called for governments across the world to coordinate and open wide bandwidth 5G spectrum and make more public resources available for site deployment.
Governments are expected to support 5G development, Xiang said, because the technology will benefit economic development and social management.
Liu Dingding, a Beijing-based technology analyst, agreed that spectrum and site resources will not be a problem holding 5G development back.
"The same concern of resources waste and overlapping construction was raised when the 4G era came, but the resources distribution was optimized in the end.
"Because the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, governments and relevant departments will offer support."
As some countries, like the US or Australia, have already banned Chinese companies from their 5G infrastructure building effort, MBBF has attracted operators and partners from Europe, the Mideast and the Asia-Pacific, according to the Huawei press release.
In terms of 5G technology development, China and the US are at about the same level, Xiang said.
"Huawei has not entered the US market, but in the future, it may have a chance to get into Australia," Xiang said. "Even in the US, there are operators and consumers who want to buy Huawei's equipment and devices."
China's 5G development is promising, because all links in the industry are strong, Xiang noted. "We have good telecom operators, device manufacturers and mobile internet developers."
"Take 5G mobile phones as example. Chinese companies will lead the game, and based on the open information, Huawei is the first company in the world that has delivered 10,000 5G base stations," Liu said.
