5G large-scale applications will emerge in the next two to three years

5G communication technology has entered a new stage of cross-border integration, integrated innovation and large-scale development. When will there be a killer application (Killer Application)? How will it profoundly affect the production methods and lifestyles of the entire world? The 2021 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit "5G Empowerment: Innovation Drives High-quality Economic Development" sub-forum, on the 27th, a number of innovative changers were invited to look forward to the future development trend of 5G.

According to the "China Internet Development Report 2021" just released, China's 5G network construction speed and scale rank first in the world. As of June this year, the total number of 5G base stations in China has reached 961,000, accounting for more than 70% of the world's total. It has achieved prefecture-level cities. Full coverage.

Bruce McConaughey, president and CEO of the East-West Institute of the United States, participated in every World Internet Conference and witnessed the many changes that 5G deployment has brought to China. He believes that with the deployment of 5G to devices used by humans and machines, more people can enjoy digital resources and digital services, the flexibility of organization and decision-making has increased, and the mobility has also increased. "We have seen that in the context of the global epidemic, data has become a vital asset. The combination of the two elements of 5G and data has stimulated the potential for accelerated innovation, which will result in new forms of service. And manufacturing methods.” McConaughey said that 5G provides users with more digital services and greater convenience, which will improve production efficiency and promote economic growth and social development.

 

Wu Hequan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and an expert on optical fiber transmission networks and broadband information networks, focuses on the empowerment of 5G on the industrial Internet. He introduced that the main function of the Industrial Internet is to collect data at the bottom, analyze the data through the industrial Internet platform and the enterprise operating system, form a mathematical model, make judgments on the data, and finally use the App to support decision-making. Now because of the advent of 5G, an access method has been added to the closed loop of the Industrial Internet, which connects industrial production equipment in the form of 5G modules, especially those mobile devices such as material vehicles, robots, and drones.

"5G industrial modules are not only a parallel access mode with traditional PLC (programmable logic controller), but also a new generation of information technology can be integrated together to become a new industrial gateway, which will help promote the flattening of the industrial Internet. , IP, and wireless.” Wu Hequan believes that since 5G itself considers the needs of connecting enterprises, the new architecture of the 5G enterprise network and the new industrial gateway have created a new pattern of industrial Internet, which can enhance my country’s The independent and controllable ability in the development of the Industrial Internet has effectively promoted the digital transformation of the industry and empowered the high-quality development of the industry.

 

At present, the global 5G competition track has gradually shifted from "built" to "used". Yu Xiaohui, president of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, believes that the 5G capabilities at this stage need to be transformed into practical applications in three steps-the first step It is the experience optimization stage, that is, 5G is loaded into the current application for optimization and upgrade; the second step is to achieve more interactive functions; the third step is the emergence of a new type of terminal, like an XR (extended reality) immersive experience. Come with more new experiences and possibilities。

 

So far, 5G applications involve almost all fields and industries of social life. The past two years have been the initial stage. Basic scene adaptation has been achieved in some key industries, and efforts have been made to solve the consequent problems of cost, network engineering, and operation mode. Yu Xiaohui believes that large-scale applications will emerge in the next two to three years, and all 5G industrialization and standardization processes will be basically completed by then. What else can we do in the next step? Yu Xiaohui said that what we have done the most is incremental innovation. For example, factory inspection and grid inspection are very typical empowerment through incremental innovation, but can there be killer applications in the 5G era? It will depend on the cooperation of the communications industry and other industries.