5G construction is progressing by leaps and bounds, but user perception is not high?

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Thanks to the development of communication technology, we are embracing an unprecedented digital world. Mobile communication continues the development law of every decade, and has undergone changes from 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G to 5G. Every intergenerational transition and every technological advancement have greatly promoted industrial upgrading and social and economic development.

On June 6, 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially issued 5G commercial licenses to China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom. As of now, it has been the third anniversary of the issuance of 5G licenses. In the past 36 months, the total number of 5G base stations in China has reached 1.615 million, accounting for more than 60% of the world's 5G base stations; in terms of the number of users, the number of 5G package users has reached about 870 million, and the penetration rate has exceeded 50%.

As a new generation of mobile communication network, 5G can quickly become popular and commercialized, mainly due to the advantages of high network speed, large bandwidth, and low latency. It not only breaks through the difficulty of 4G mobile communication system to meet the needs of the skyrocketing mobile data traffic, but also realizes the communication problems between people and things, things and things, and meets the needs of mobile medical, Internet of Vehicles, industrial control, environmental monitoring and other industries. IoT application requirements at scale.

Although the 5G construction is progressing by leaps and bounds, it is in a state of "lost voice" in the lives of residents. As we all know, wireless network coverage is the cornerstone of 5G business and performance. As of the end of 2021, the average coverage of 5G along high-speed rail lines is only about 10%; indoors is only about 60%; closed areas such as underground parking lots, elevators, and stairs are all below 50%. In terms of network signal, it also has a lot of room for improvement.

At the same time, at the beginning of the 5G package, taking the monthly traffic of 30GB as an example, the three major operators set the price at around 129 yuan. Today, although there are discounts to drive the price down, it is still more than 100 yuan, while the 4G package is basically at the level of tens of yuan. Many users reported that the more expensive tariffs of 5G packages did not bring better enjoyment, and even some users who applied for 5G switched back to 4G.

In addition, improving the presence of 5G does not only depend on the construction of the network, but also requires coordination at the industrial level. For example, applications such as AR/VR and 4K/8K UHD have been mentioned in the 4G era, but 4G networks cannot meet the needs of large bandwidth and low latency. The emergence of 5G can better meet the needs and provide users with more choices.

Looking back at the past three years, although 5G construction has achieved remarkable results and users have achieved rapid growth, on the whole, ordinary consumers are not very aware of 5G. With the continuous upgrading of Internet consumption, it is hoped that 5G can be optimized to meet user needs, enter the core links of the industry, and build a mature ecosystem.