Telecom firms try to gain 5G advantage

Telecommunications gear makers are ramping up their efforts to garner overseas business around the planned fifth-generation network, as part of the country's broader push to gain the lead in the race for the next generation of mobile communication technologies.

The high-speed 5G technology is expected to revolutionize the tech world in the near future, as it will be able to transmit data more than 10 times faster than the current 4G system and will take on tasks that are impossible in the 4G era, such as overseeing self-driving vehicles.

ZTE Corp, a major telecom equipment maker in China, announced last month the partnership with Italy's largest operator Wind Tre and Italian wholesale fiber network operator Open Fiber, to build Europe's first 5G pre-commercial network.