Number of 5G mobile phone users in China surpasses 1.15 billion

The number of 5G mobile phone users in China has surpassed 1.15 billion, with the technology now widely integrated into industries across the economy, data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) showed.

As of August, China registered a total of 1.154 billion 5G subscribers, accounting for 63.4 percent of all mobile phone users, according to the ministry.

The country had also built 4.646 million 5G base stations, representing 36.3 percent of all mobile base stations.

"5G has already covered 86 major sectors of the national economy, with more than 18,500 5G-plus industrial internet projects in place, becoming a key engine driving the manufacturing sector's smart and green transformation. New industries, new business models and new forms under the 'AI plus' initiative are accelerating, with the value of the 'three new' – comprising new industries, new business formats and new business models – exceeding 24 trillion yuan (about $3.37 trillion)," said Zhong Zhihong, chief engineer with the MIIT.

Zhong added that China aims to strengthen its digital infrastructure by promoting coordinated development of gigabit networks and speeding up pilot deployments of 5G-Advanced and 10-gigabit optical networks.

China is also pushing network co-construction and sharing, having built the world's largest shared 5G network.

"More than 1.5 million 5G base stations have been built, achieving continuous 5G coverage across all regions at township level and above nationwide. Network sharing has saved the country over 380 billion yuan in investment and reduced carbon emissions by more than 13 million tonnes annually," said Zhang Jingtao, head of the co-construction and sharing work group of China Telecom.

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