At present, more than 100 operators around the world have launched one or more 5G commercial services. China has built the world's largest 5G network. 5G has entered a new stage of "high-speed and high-quality" development. On the one hand, the rapid development of the digital economy has unleashed the value of data. The combination of 5G and various industries has produced a "multiplier effect", accelerating industrial transformation and promoting high-quality development in the three major areas of social governance, information consumption, and industrial upgrading. On the other hand, how to realize the value of 5G, cultivate "killer" services, benefit and serve the public has become an important goal in the new stage of 5G development.

5G news relies on new technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, big data, blockchain, and computing power networks to promote the digital transformation of the industry and accelerate the high-quality development of the digital economy.

5G messaging development status

Three years have passed since the three major domestic operators jointly released a 5G news white paper in April 2020. Looking back on the past, with the vigorous development of 5G, 5G messaging has accelerated its development into public basic applications. Domestic operators' 5G messaging platforms have been commercialized on a large scale, and platform operation and management have also become increasingly perfect.

In terms of platform construction, the three major domestic operators have built 30 5G message nodes in 15 regions, providing services to nearly 200 million users.

In terms of industry development, domestic operators have connected hundreds of 5G messaging CSPs, opened more than 100,000 Chatbots, and sent nearly 20 billion 5G messages every year. Chatbot has achieved diversified applications in many fields such as government affairs, finance, cultural tourism, public services, life services, media, medical care, and e-commerce.

During the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics, China Unicom focused on the IP hot spots of the Winter Olympics and designed and developed the "Unicom Winter Olympics" Chatbot application, which covers "Winter Olympics services, communication services, and enjoying the Winter Olympics" Large sections and 56 service scenarios have created a "one-stop" Winter Olympics service platform, built a new entrance to China Unicom services, enabled audiences to watch the games intelligently and participate interactively, and provided schedules, highlights, and medal lists. , business ordering, licensed commodity purchase, city service, etc. On this basis, China Unicom also carried out online theme activities based on the hot spots of the Winter Olympics. Before the opening of the Winter Olympics, it carried out warm-up activities (a lottery for answering questions and taking photos with the Winter Olympics). After the opening of the Winter Olympics, it carried out a lottery for viewing and ice-dundun flash sales. , Beijing Satellite TV's "Winter Dream Covenant" and other series of activities, covering 100 million users, allowing users to learn about 5G news and use 5G news at close range.

During the National Two Sessions this year, China Unicom joined hands with the People's Daily for digital communication, and launched the "Focus on the Two Sessions" 5G message experience content service to the public with the theme of "Starting and Striving forward". Both parties use their respective lightweight, strong reach, multimedia and other features to strengthen the close connection between "media + communication operators + users", and use 5G messaging to customize the menu bar and uplink and downlink interactive functions to help users quickly and easily obtain the latest meeting progress. and People’s Daily high-quality content, bringing users a new 5G digital life experience.

In terms of terminal support, according to the latest report of the 5G Messaging Working Group (an organization co-sponsored by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the China Communications Enterprise Association and related companies in the 5G messaging industry chain), as of May 2023, 309 mobile phones support The 5G message UP2.4 standard, of which 264 models of China Mobile, 23 models of China Unicom, and 22 models of China Telecom, China Mobile still accounts for the majority of models that support 5G messages. According to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, in the whole year of 2022, there will be 423 new models on the market in China, of which 5G mobile phones account for 220 models. From January to May this year, there were 78 5G mobile phones among the new models on the market. With the increasing popularity of 5G mobile phones, more and more mobile phones will support 5G message function.

Judging from the current status of operator network construction, industry development and terminal support, 5G messaging already has the foundation for large-scale commercial use.

With favorable policies, 5G news will usher in an explosive period

In July this year, in order to support the innovative development and large-scale application of 5G messaging, enrich 5G application scenarios and service supply, and promote the high-quality development of the digital economy, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the "Notice on Strengthening Terminal Network Collaboration to Assist the Scaled Development of 5G Messaging" (Draft for Comments) ) (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice").

The "Notice" points out that there will be a transition period of six months from the date of release. Mobile phone manufacturers should complete the system design and functional upgrade of the 5G mobile phones planned to be launched in accordance with industry standards related to 5G messaging and network access testing specifications. After the transition period, mobile phone manufacturers’ new 5G mobile phones applying for network access permission must support 5G messages. For 5G mobile phone models that have applied for network access before the end of the transition period, qualified mobile phone manufacturers are encouraged to support 5G messaging functions through product system upgrades and other methods.

The "Notice" has injected strong momentum into the large-scale development and popularization of 5G messaging terminals. 5G messaging is expected to usher in "explosive" growth next year.

The combination of 5G messages and large models brings a new imagination space

As 5G news continues to mature and improve, the industry is also exploring the possibility of combining it with emerging technologies, such as the hottest ChatGPT (Chat Generation Pre-training Transformer) this year. The rapid popularization of 5G provides an efficient and reliable network base for human-computer interaction. 5G message Chatbot is one of the basic channels for 5G to enable toB industry applications. So what does ChatGPT mean for 5G messages?

Chatbot is a chat robot, also known as a conversational robot. It is a general term for programs that simulate human conversation and chat based on artificial intelligence technology. Chatbot was born as early as 1966. Eliza, developed by Joseph Weizenbaum, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was the earliest dialogue program for chatting with people. In recent years, with the rapid development of mobile communication, Internet and AI technology, Chatbot has been widely used in the fields of Internet, social network and mobile communication, among which the most prominent application in the field of mobile communication is 5G message Chatbot.

ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool driven by artificial intelligence technology developed by OpenAI. It is a generative pre-trained language model based on machine learning technology and Transformer neural network architecture. It can learn contextual information to better understand intentions, emotions and metaphors. Provide people with more flexible and intelligent answers. Compared with traditional Chatbots, ChatGPT chats are more natural and smooth, can conduct detailed reasoning and generate innovative content, and its capabilities and experience far exceed those of traditional Chatbots.

All in all, ChatGPT is a new generation of Chatbot with GPT (generated pre-training transformation model) as the core technology in the era of artificial intelligence 2.0. It can be regarded as a new application of Chatbot's development to the GPT stage. There is no specific task or domain limitation, and it can be used in various Dialogue scenes. Before the emergence of ChatGPT, Chatbot has been widely used in finance, tourism, education, medical care, customer service and other fields. Chatbot based on conversational AI has also become a mainstream product, but Chatbot usually has specific tasks or fields, such as customer service, smart assistants, etc. .

5G message Chatbot is based on 5G messaging, which adds toB-oriented capabilities on top of toC-oriented multimedia capabilities and portals, as well as new features such as fixed menus, dynamic menus, and card messages. These features help improve industry user experience and guide users Complete transactions quickly.

The advantages of 5G messaging Chatbot for toB industry applications are direct access to users, on-demand services, and strong interactivity in responding to requests. ChatGPT can be used as one of the core technologies of Chatbot to serve and empower 5G industry applications at the fastest speed through 5G messages. Chatbot can create a more intelligent Chatbot through the technical upgrade of ChatGPT, which can greatly improve the service capabilities and service levels of 5G industry applications and improve production efficiency. At the same time, with the support of plug-in capabilities, ChatGPT is deeply integrated with industry knowledge to fully leverage the application value of professional data.

Figure 1: Chatbot entrance

As shown in Figure 1, based on the native portal of the 5G messaging service on mobile terminals, users can enter the mini program with one click. The mini program is the direct entrance to the Chatbot application. Both the traditional Chatbot and the Chatbot supporting ChatGPT can be launched and published based on the operator’s 5G message service management platform. Users can obtain access rights through online search or QR code link scanning, and then they can chat with the robot.

From a technical point of view, Chatbot can be connected to ChatGPT based on the open API interface to improve the ability of intelligent dialogue response; it can also be based on the built-in module or plug-in of AIGC capabilities such as ChatGPT based on the CSP platform; it can also directly build Chatbot into a ChatGPT client. It is worth noting that through the continuous integration and release of ChatGPT or other AIGC capabilities through the CSP platform, the terminal does not need to be modified or upgraded.

From an industry perspective, 5G messaging and ChatGPT are the perfect fusion of new mobile communications and new artificial intelligence. 5G messaging will provide ChatGPT with new value and a stage for industry applications.

Future direction of efforts

With the establishment of national policies, 5G messaging will usher in better historical development opportunities. Communication is an eternal need of human beings. How to make full use of the differentiated advantages of telecom services, 5G network characteristics and the latest technology to define and create a new era messaging product with core competitiveness and high value is the historical mission of operators.

In order to build 5G messaging into one of the best entrances to telecom ecological digital services and businesses, provide users with safe and trustworthy messaging communications, and build an integrated ecosystem and business closed loop based on natural private domain traffic channels to realize the development of the 5G messaging industry. To be successful, operators need to focus on improving the ecology, developing capabilities, and integrating innovation in the future.

Perfect ecology

Although the three major operators have all built 5G messaging platforms, 5G messages between different operators cannot yet be interoperated because the interoperability specifications have not yet been determined. As the number of terminals with 5G messaging capabilities increases, 5G messaging interconnection will become a rigid need.

Therefore, operators should step up efforts to formulate 5G message interconnection and interoperability specifications so that existing platforms have interconnection capabilities to meet the rich media messaging service needs of cross-network users. At the same time, operators should subdivide existing large areas, improve nearby service capabilities, strengthen the image of high-quality network services, and further consolidate the development of 5G news.

Specifically, operators should build connections and traffic bases. In the 5G era where everything is intelligently connected, 5G messaging is an important part of the implementation of the "5G+" strategy. Operators should adhere to the synergy of "5G+4G" and "5G+big connectivity" and adopt the three steps of "mandatory network access, incentive upgrades, and standard promotion" Go, expand the connection scale, accelerate the coverage of 5G messaging terminals, and unify the user experience.

At the same time, operators should expand the scale of terminals, and achieve both "quantity" and "quality". One is to rapidly increase the scale of terminals through policy guidance and market cooperation; the other is to continuously optimize the 5G message service experience on the terminal side through cooperation with terminal companies.

develop ability

Relying on the advantages of operator numbers, SIM cards and message portals, 5G messaging can integrate multiple types of communication needs of "people and people, people and services, people and things, things and services", and connect the "people-centered" C-side and B-side , T-terminal multi-terminal form. Operators will build the 5G messaging platform into an intelligent information service infrastructure, build a "capability middle platform" that is the core of 5G messaging, optimize service quality, and promote the development of 5G messaging through the Internet, subtracting forward and multiplying backward, through "capabilities The dual "magnifying glass effect" of "magnification" and "value amplification" leads the new field of "human-computer interaction" and maximizes the commercial monetization capabilities of 5G messages.

Capacity amplification: Combine the text, picture, audio, video, card and other message processing capabilities of the existing platform with network capabilities such as AI, IoT, large models, edge computing, etc., while introducing third parties such as payment, advertising, authentication, and search. capabilities, provide intelligent services to industries and users, and create more colorful messaging services.

Value amplification: Distribute profits to the C-side, platform capabilities are free, and value-added capabilities are charged. At the same time, backward cooperation such as sharing, advertising, commissions, rankings, and bidding is carried out to achieve value transfer and multi-level monetization.

5G messaging has the advantages of terminal nativeness, unified number system, real-name authentication access, secure and trustworthy communication, and global interconnection. Only by combining big data, artificial intelligence, payment and other technologies can it provide users with a media-rich and interactive chat experience. Only by supporting a standard, open and win-win 5G messaging ecosystem from the platform side can we not only provide users with convenient services, but also promote industry scale and revenue growth.

Integration and innovation

In addition to its "channel" value, 5G messages also have broader platform value, entry value, and transaction value, which still need to be deeply explored by the industry chain. In the future, the integration of 5G messaging with the Internet of Things, XR, health management, finance, entertainment and other industries will produce more innovative applications.

As of the end of 2022, the number of China Mobile IoT device connections has reached 1.845 billion, exceeding the number of mobile phone users for the first time; while the global number of IoT device connections has exceeded 14.4 billion and will continue to grow in the future. 5G messaging occupies the natural entrance of mobile phones, and has already realized the connection between "people and people" and "people and applications". In the future, it can also open up the boundary with the Internet of Things, quickly realize the integration of the "application-people-things" ecology, and create a better Large market space.

XR (Extended Reality) generally refers to VR (Virtual Reality), AR (Augmented Reality), MR (Mixed Reality) and other technologies. It is the main trend in the future development of the big video ecosystem. Its ecological scope covers education, entertainment, medical care, engineering and other fields. . XR applications can use the user portal and channel of 5G messages to reach users directly.

As the main force in new infrastructure construction, operators have high-quality networks, computing power, cloud service capabilities, and natural industrial chain advantages. An important part of their new information service system relies on the technological advantages of "5G+AI" , providing AI service capabilities to downstream users and assisting the digital transformation of thousands of industries. In terms of mobile networks, domestic operators have built high-performance, highly reliable 4G and 5G networks covering the entire country, and continue to evolve to 5G-A and 6G to meet the connectivity and computing network needs of future AI applications.

5G and 6G communications will provide users with a fully immersive interactive experience, meeting human interaction needs at multiple sensory, emotional and conscious levels. ChatGPT is a typical representative of the development of the new generation of AI technology. It will be combined with communication services to provide users with highly intelligent, multi-interactive, three-dimensional and diversified communications. ChatGPT can strengthen and empower new communication applications such as 5G messaging and 5G new calls. It is extremely Greatly improve communication’s information interaction capabilities, industry application capabilities and productivity.

At the same time, the superposition of different technologies and the integration between industries will build a new ecology. For example, smart health is the result of the superposition of 5G, Internet of Things, big video, artificial intelligence and other technologies in the medical and health field. According to the characteristics of the user group, it can be divided into health service industries such as diagnosis, medical treatment, rehabilitation, and elderly care. Data shows that in 2020, the scale of the smart, healthy and elderly care industry alone has exceeded 4 trillion yuan, and the compound growth rate in the previous three years exceeded 18%. Under the situation of global aging and shortage of medical resources, the industry will continue to maintain rapid growth. 5G messaging will be widely used and play value in the above fields.

According to predictions from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, 5G messaging will further strengthen its integration with new ICT technologies. In the next 10 years, the 5G messaging industry is expected to evolve to a scale of one trillion yuan.

conclusion

In the future, China Unicom will join forces with outstanding partners in the industry to use 5G messaging services as the starting point, with the goal of accelerating the double leap in scale and value of "5G + Industrial Internet", and to continuously enrich and improve the core capability matrix covering the five major systems of digital government. As a foothold, we will contribute more and better “connectivity solutions” to the modernization of the national governance system and governance capabilities.