MIIT Issued Four 5G Licenses, China Ushering in the 5G Era

 5G

On June 6, 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued 5G licenses to China’s four major telecom carriers--China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Broadcasting Network, ushering in the era of 5G.

After nearly six years of 4G, domestic telecom carriers finally obtained commercial liscenses for 5G. The 5G network construction in China is accelerating.

China’s three major telecom giants had already deployed 5G commercial pioneering zones. On April 23, China Unicom launched its 5G trial networks in 7 cities, and thus became the first Chinese carrier that offered 5G service to customers.  

5G standards are unified international standards jointly established by global industry players. China claims over 30% of standard-essential patents. Many foreign companies such as Nokia, Ericsson, Qualcomm and Intel have participated in 5G establishment. Thanks to the joint effort, now 5G in China is capable of commercial use.

On January 7, 2009, MIIT granted China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom 3G licenses. China entered into the 3G era.

On December 4, 2013, MIIT unveiled 4G licenses and China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom obtained TD-LTE licenses, while China Unicom and China Mobile also obtained LTE-FDD licenses. China ushered in the 4G era.

At the Boao Forum for Asia in March, 2019, Miao Wei, minister of MIIT said that capable companies needed some time to set up 5G base stations before China realized large-scale of 5G commercial use.

July 1, 2019

Source: CCTV News

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