How far is 5G, which is "near" in front of you, from you? The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology gives the answer

How long will it take for 5G to become popular?

Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology drafted and compiled the "5G Application "Sailing" Action Plan (2021-2023)", which mentioned: my country's 5G user penetration rate in 2023 will exceed 40%, the number of users will exceed 560 million, and the proportion of 5G network access traffic More than 50%.

What is the 40% user penetration rate? According to data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as of the end of 2018, the number of 4G users in my country was 1.17 billion, with a penetration rate of 84%. Therefore, the large-scale popularization of 5G will take a long time, and 4G and 5G will coexist for a long time in the future.

This can also be seen from the number of 5G base stations. As of the end of March, the number of 5G base stations in my country was around 800,000. In comparison, as of the end of 2019, my country had 5.44 million 4G base stations. Because of the higher frequency of the 5G network, the number of base stations required to reach the coverage of the current 4G network will be more.

5G is already "near" to us, but it is also very far away. Why do you say that? At present, 5G lacks "killer" applications. To put it bluntly, is the current 5G network useful for consumers?

5G lacks "killer" applications

Today, when 5G has been commercialized for almost two years, Speedtest is still the largest application of 5G. The only perception that ordinary consumers have for 5G networks is the increase in speed. However, the current application scenarios on mobile phones can already be met by 4G networks, not necessarily 5G networks.

Of course, the "fastness" of the 5G network has certain advantages in video loading and file downloading. But this faces another problem: 5G tariffs are too high, and the current 5G package prices generally start at 100 yuan, which is not yet within the range that most consumers are willing to bear.

The "5G Application "Sailing" Action Plan (2021-2023)" issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also mentioned that 5G technology should be further applied to specific scenarios. 5G+ information consumption, 5G+ converged media, 5G+ smart logistics, etc. are all the future development directions.

According to the ten-year iterative rate of mobile communication technology, 5G, which has been commercially available for less than two years, is still in the early stages of development. What changes will 5G bring to our lives? There are endless imaginations! The popularization of new technologies requires pioneers, but also Look at it rationally.

Take 5G mobile phones, an important part of the popularization of 5G, there are almost no 4G mobile phones with more than 2,000 new phones on the market. But in fact, 4G mobile phones are currently sufficient for most consumers, and mobile phone manufacturers should return the choice to consumers!

【Editor's Choice】