Superfast 5G-A trial networks to support 50 million Chinese users

(ECNS) -- A 5G-A trial network has been established across China's 31 provinces and regions, with the capacity to support 50 million users, while conducting verification tests in multiple regions, including Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Compared with 5G, 5G-A boasts significant improvements in capacity, speed, latency, positioning, and reliability, offering faster and higher-quality communication experiences while enabling cost-effective connectivity for hundreds of billions of Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

While maximum 5G download rates are around 1 gigabyte per second, 5G-A can be up to 10 times faster, helping support demanding applications like extended reality (XR) and naked-eye 3D that produces holographic imagery.

Upload speeds will also jump significantly, enabling capabilities like mass cloud data transfer and allowing the once futuristic notion of holographic communication to become a reality.

According to China's major telecommunication operators, most mainstream smartphones currently on the market are compatible with 5G-A networks. Users can experience faster speeds without incurring additional charges. However, using 5G-A requires local base station support and 5G-A-capable devices.

China Mobile has already announced 100 pilot cities with 5G-A coverage, with plans to expand service to over 300 cities nationwide this year. The telecoms firm says it would invest nearly 10 billion yuan (about $1.4 billion) this year to expand AI-based applications in its 5G-A wireless network and upgrade over 400,000 base stations.

Other providers like China Telecom are piloting 5G-A solutions across multiple industries. China Unicom aims to activate 5G-A in 39 key cities and across more than 300 urban application zones, covering key scenarios, including the IoT, Internet of Vehicles (IoV), and industrial internet.

Experts indicate that with advancements in 5G-A and AR technologies, future spatial computing platforms and technology incubation platforms would become more sophisticated, providing stronger support for cutting-edge technologies like brain-computer interfaces.

Additionally, 5G-A demonstrates broad application potential in emerging fields, including the low-altitude economy and autonomous driving.

(By Zhang Dongfang)