At the press conference, a reporter asked why 5G technology is so important to China and when China will deploy 5G technology, especially in rural areas. Ministry of Industry and Information Technology spokesperson Wen Ku said that in addition to traditional 4G applications, 5G also has applications for the Internet of Things and industrial control, similar to some low-latency, high-reliability control applications. Therefore, its development will be beneficial to the future development of society. Some other applications have very important significance. Wenku pointed out that our goal is to achieve the same network speed in both rural and urban areas. At present, we can basically achieve it. We have connected optical fibers to almost all administrative villages across the country. This year, 5G will be deployed in some key places, especially in some hotspots and big cities. As the next step of work is carried out, rural areas will also be deployed in 5G, just like 4G.
Wall Street Journal reporter: My question is why 5G technology is so important to China, and I would like to ask, when will China deploy 5G technology, especially in rural areas? Thank you. Wen Ku: Thank you for your question. I think the reason why 5G technology is important has been discussed in the media for a long time, and I will repeat it briefly here. 5G technology is different from 4G, and there are similarities. In addition to the large bandwidth usage of 4G, such as high-speed browsing and high-speed video, when 5G technology was originally designed, it was designed from the perspective of requirements and in addition to connecting people to people communication. , But also consider some other applications. Everyone has said on many occasions that 5G changes the world. In addition to large bandwidth, there are also low latency, high reliability, and large connections. In other words, in addition to traditional 4G applications, 5G also has IoT applications and industrial control. For some low-delay, high-reliability control applications, its development will be of great significance to the development of society in the future and to some other applications.
Regarding the countryside, I think it has always been the focus of our development. At present, we have done many years of work through the universal service compensation mechanism. I believe that the reporters here have also specially visited the rural areas. Our goal is to achieve the same network speed in both rural and urban areas. At present, we can basically do it. By the time we arrive, we have connected almost all administrative villages across the country with optical fiber. According to speed measurement, the average network speed can reach more than 60 megabits. Mobile coverage is also very important. Before the arrival of 5G, we have already begun large-scale deployment of 4G networks in rural areas. According to preliminary estimates by the end of this year, more than 98% of the 550,000 administrative villages across the country will have 4G network coverage. In terms of 5G, network deployment is usually a slowly rising curve. This year, 5G is mainly deployed in some key places, especially in some hotspots and big cities. As the next step of work is carried out, rural areas will be like 4G. Deploy 5G. Thank you.