China is striving to expand its 5G network coverage with the goal of reaching 560 million users by 2023.
Workers installing a 5G base station in Chongqing, China. (Photo: Xinhua).
In a statement on December 20, China’s Minister of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) Xiao Yaqing announced that the country has completed the installation of over 1.3 million 5G base stations, with the current number of users reaching 497 million.
In 2022, China will continue to enhance information and communication technology while accelerating the stable and orderly construction of 5G services and gigabit optical networks, Xiao added.
By 2023, the number of users is expected to reach 560 million. At that time, 5G will be utilized by more than 40% of personal mobile phone users, with over 18 5G base stations for every 10,000 people in China.
China began commercializing 5G in late 2019 and is one of the countries making the most significant investments in this new generation of mobile network infrastructure. According to a report by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), the number of 5G users in China is growing at the fastest pace in the world.
