Transforming economy and nation

Editor's note: To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, China Daily is publishing a series of stories on the changes and developments in various fields and industries.

Evolution of the mobile telephony shows advanced telecom techs big matter to sectors

In the 1990s, a typical photograph of a successful Chinese businessman would include a brick-type, clunky mobile phone somewhere in the frame. Such mobile phones were bigger than the palm and were good for only making and receiving calls. Yet, back then, a mobile phone was deemed a luxury product.

It took decades of development for those phones to evolve into nifty and versatile super smartphones of today that can accomplish a range of tasks, from buying movie tickets to booking medical appointments to 1 GB movie downloads within seconds.

During the period, China has transformed itself from a follower of 2G technology to a pioneer of 5G technology.

Xiang Ligang, director-general of the Information Consumption Alliance, a telecom industry association, and a keen observer of the telecom sector for nearly two decades, said: "Chinese telecom companies have made big strides in their innovation capabilities, through their consistent and heavy input into research and development. They have strong willingness to pioneer cutting-edge applications.

"Chinese telecom companies are thriving in the global arena as not just competitive players but as pioneers in experimenting with new technologies."

China, for instance, is among the first batch of nations in the world to commercialize 5G services. As early as June 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the nation's top industry regulator, granted licenses to three major telecom operators for 5G commercial services.

Now, within just two years, China has built the world's largest 5G network on a preliminary basis, with 280 million 5G mobile connections, accounting for more than 80 percent of global 5G connections, said Liu Liehong, vice-minister of industry and information technology.

As Chinese consumers become more willing to upgrade their handsets, 5G smartphones are expected to account for more than 80 percent of overall smartphone shipments in China in the second half of this year, Liu said.

So far, the nation has already built 819,000 5G base stations across the nation, accounting for about 70 percent of the world's total, he said.