With Chinese companies rushing to release 5G-enabled devices and a mature environment for the technology in China, the country's mobile communication industry may pull ahead of the world in the coming 5G era, an expert said.
China is likely to issue 5G licenses as soon as the end of 2018, said Wu Hequan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, during a sub-forum covering 5G at the World Internet Conference (WIC) in Wuzhen, East China's Zhejiang Province on Friday.
At the same forum, Li Huidi, vice president of China Mobile, announced the company's 5G terminal pioneer plan. It is expected to release a 5G terminal white paper this year, and it plans to launch a 5G smartphone under its own brand in the first half of 2019.
Huawei also said that it has built a pilot 5G network in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, jointly with the network operator.
"Huawei has launched an end-to-end solution based on the 3GPP 5G standard, providing a set of 5G equipment from base stations to core networks. In the past month, it has been shipped to customers worldwide," Yang Chaobin, vice president of Huawei, said.
Chinese companies in various areas are racing to lead the competition to embrace the 5G era, said Liu Dingding, a Beijing-based veteran internet analyst.
"Lenovo, Huawei and other manufacturers have all claimed they will offer the world's first 5G device, but no matter which company wins the race, it's clear that 5G era is coming soon," Liu said.
"The basics of all aspects of technology, the conditions, the policies and regulations have almost matured in China," Liu added.
The eras of "1G to 4G were for personal communication, while 5G is for the mobile internet and the industrial internet," he said. "The peak rate of 5G is 30 times that of 4G. 5G will support autonomous driving."
After the arrival of 5G, the Internet of Things and autonomous driving will be realized, Liu said. Companies in many fields will invest in the technology and develop strategies based on it. Several Chinese companies are actually moving ahead.
"Our advantages are more prominent than in the 3G and 4G eras, so many people say that 5G will help China's mobile communications industry to surpass and lead the game. I think this is possible," Liu said.