It takes time for 5G to achieve "1 to N" breakthrough

Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has taken a variety of measures to promote the development of 5G. In early May, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the "5G Application "Sailing" Action Plan (2021-2023)". This programmatic action plan pointed out the key direction, key goals and core tasks of the 5G industry development. At the “2021 World Telecommunications and Information Society Day Conference” held on May 17, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology promoted the five major basic telecommunications operators to launch the “5G Empowering Industry Digitalization Joint Action”; Vice Minister Liu Liehong emphasized in the keynote speech of the conference that Grasp the innovation of 5G fusion applications, increase resource input, and expand new kinetic energy. It is necessary to grasp the complexity of 5G fusion applications, and multi-party coordinated efforts to overcome difficult battles and embark on a path of 5G development with Chinese characteristics.

In the past three years, China's 5G has achieved a "0 to 1" breakthrough, and network construction has reached a certain scale. As of the end of March 2021, 819,000 5G base stations have been built, covering all prefecture-level and above cities across the country, accounting for more than 70% of the total number of 5G base stations in the world. The independent networking (SA) mode is deployed on a large scale, and the world's largest 5G independent networking network has been initially established. 5G applications are also emerging in endlessly. In the consumer sector, there are a series of new products such as 5G messaging (RCS converged communications), video ring back tones, ultra-high-definition video, AR/VR, cloud games, etc.

Product. The combination of 5G+big data+artificial intelligence+AR/VR and other technologies is forming emerging development models in the fields of game entertainment, event live broadcast, and residential services, which promotes the deep integration of to B and to C business models. In the industrial field, there are more than 1,500 "5G+Industrial Internet" projects nationwide, covering 22 important industries in the national economy. In the field of people's livelihood, 5G application innovation continues to deepen in highways, urban roads, railways, and subways. The development of high-definition video services such as 5G+4K/8K, 5G+VR/AR/MR and so on is accelerating. Typical applications such as 5G+ smart hospital, emergency care, public health, and health care have been launched one after another.

It can be said that China's 5G development has achieved a world-leading systemic advantage and achieved a "0 to 1" breakthrough. But for 5G, the problem now facing is how to upgrade the breakthrough of "0 to 1" to a comprehensive improvement of "1 to N" and realize the scale of application.

This "N" includes both 5G to C and 5G to B. In the application of 5G to C, many users are indifferent to 5G. Whether it is live streaming or gaming applications, the network speed of 5G does not show a greater advantage than 4G, and due to the high package costs and the expensive 5G mobile phones, the public opinion has been swaying 5G. Therefore, what users show is not their expectations for 5G, but rejection and distrust. In 5G to B applications, although we have many different application cases, these cases


It is more of an isolated pilot project, which solves only partial problems. For example, in solving factory problems, 5G applications are more focused on machine vision. If these applications are promoted to a certain company, the company may not know what it wants to do with 5G. If it is extended to an industry, it seems that it is not clear from the technical requirements, standard scale, and then to the business model, and the needs of different industries are different. For the communications industry, standard specifications and clear requirements are the prerequisites for large-scale commercial use of business applications. At present, the demand in the 5G to B field is more fragmented, and the whole is blurred. If these problems cannot be solved, how can we talk about large-scale applications?

Therefore, it is a very challenging process for 5G to achieve a "1 to N" breakthrough. This process is not only a problem faced by the communications industry, but also other industries. If we go from 1G to 4G, we can also refer to foreign experience and cross the river by feeling the stones; then, today, after China's 5G enters the "no man's land", there is no reference. Vice Minister Liu Liehong said that China’s 5G should “coordinate to overcome difficulties and fight tough battles and embark on a path of 5G development with Chinese characteristics”. This is not a slogan, but a clear requirement for the communications industry.



Now that 5G development has entered the "deep water zone", how do we explore and in which directions can we achieve a breakthrough in 5G applications from 1 to N? It takes time to find the answer, and it also tests the wisdom and wisdom of the industry. patient.

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