GSMA: China Maintains 5G Leadership Role In The Face OF COVID-19

Posted by GSMA

China has cemented its position as a global 5G leader as a result of significant operator investment, and growing enthusiasm amongst consumers and enterprises, according to several new industry studies published today. The GSMA is publishing a series of reports as part of ‘GSMA China Week’, an annual programme of events focused on the development of mobile industry in China, which is happening online this year. Topics include current 5G trends and 5G’s role in recovering from the COVID-19 outbreak in China.

Mobile operators in China launched commercial 5G services last year and are leading the way in diversifying their offerings for both consumer and enterprise customers. The 2020 China edition of the GSMA’s ‘Mobile Economy’ series, published today, forecasts that 5G will account for almost half of the country’s mobile connections by 2025, representing an adoption rate on a par with other leading 5G markets such as Japan, South Korea and the US. Chinese operator investment forecasts are more than $180 billion over the next five years in mobile CAPEX, roughly 90 percent of which will be on 5G networks.

“China is leading early adoption in 5G and has already built more than 160,000 5G base stations covering more than 50 cities as operators aim to expand standalone 5G network coverage and capacity,” said Sihan Bo Chen, Head of Greater China, GSMA. “Unlocking the benefits of these next-generation networks, flexible policies, including for spectrum and infrastructure, are strategically important to support China’s ongoing transformation into a fully-fledged digital economy.”

―CT Bureau