CHENGDU, China—The Asia Pacific region is heading the movement toward the era of 5G, the fifth-generation cellular network technology that will enable innovations touted to reshape society.
Global information and communications technology (ICT) and smart devices provider Huawei gathered more than 200 representatives across various sectors in the region to discuss innovative 5G technologies and applications, as well as the state of its adaptation, at the 2019 Huawei Asia Pacific Innovation Day held here.
“5G will serve as the foundation of an intelligent world and enable the connectivity of everything,” said William Xu, Huawei director of the board and president of the Institute of Strategic Research, during his opening speech at this year’s edition of the annual event, themed “Innovation Enables Asia-Pacific Digitization.”
With much greater bandwidth and lower latency than traditional wireless connections, 5G can lay the foundation for a more fully automated, intelligent future. Among the technological solutions to be unlocked by the next generation of mobile technology is Smart Healthcare, wherein faster online connection can enable remote yet precise consultations, as well as Smart Education and Smart Surveillance.
The 5G network also transforms end user experience. The higher speed of data transfer allows for video streaming in 8K quality without buffer, and console-quality mobile gaming without lag. Moreover, the tested downlink rate of 5G is as high as 1 Gbps, enabling download of an HD movie in 1080P resolution in only two seconds.
At the forefront of the global adaption of 5G are Asia Pacific countries. South Korea, for one, has become the global benchmark for the technology’s commercial use with 2 million 5G subscribers since the network rollout in April. Meanwhile, China has built a large-scale 5G network for pilot commercial use, boasting of the world’s largest 5G airport and the world’s first 5G shopping mall.
The trend supports the report presented at the conference by global technology association GSMA Ltd. titled “5G Development and Innovation in Asia Pacific,” GSMA projects that 54 percent of the world’s 5G connections will be in Asia Pacific by 2025, with a user base of 675 million.
A total of 35 carriers in 20 countries around the world have launched 5G, while 33 other countries have distributed 5G spectrum. Huawei has signed over 50 5G commercial contracts worldwide. In the Philippines, Huawei and Globe launched in June a fixed wireless 5G services for home Internet, making the country second only to South Korea to offer such product in Asia.
The Chinese tech giant has also shipped over 200,000 Massive MIMO AUU units, the device used to accommodate various 5G deployment scenarios and make operators ready for 5G in advance based on 4G network.
According to Xu, Huawei became an industry leader in 5G by investing in the technology early and deeply. The company started 5G research in 2009, just when 4G was just starting to see commercial deployment. To date, Huawei has already spent $4 billion for the technology.
“When we began 5G research, there were no standards to speak of. We essentially had to start from scratch; we couldn’t jump into product development right away,” he said. “In the beginning we focused on standards development and basic research in chips, materials and algorithms. This ongoing investment has helped us to stay ahead.”
Under Huawei’s so-called industry blueprint of an intelligent world released last year, called “Global Industry Vision 2025,” 5G network is set to cover 58 pecent of the world’s population in six years. The report forecasts that massive demand for the technology will pave the way for the deployment of 6.5 million 5G base stations by 2025, with 2.8 billion 5G users around the world.
The speed with which 5G is seen to become universal will be unprecedented. It took a decade for the mass adaptation of 3G network, from 2001 to 2010, while 4G took five years, from 2009 to 2014. 5G network, however, is expected to take over in just three years, starting this year until 2022.
“4G changes lives, but 5G reshapes society,” said Yuhong Huang, research institute deputy general manager of China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile phone operator with total number of subscribers at over 900 million users.
Huang compared 5G network to an empty house, which needs emerging technologies, such as AI, IoT and Big Data to give it warmth.
Sharing the same sentiment is Zhiqin Wang, vice president of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, who believes that 5G, combined with other technologies, will create synergy that will boost innovations.
She said 5G brings great hope, but challenges remain, which can be overcome by setting the right ecosystem in place. Government policies are as crucial, she added.
“Innovation is not enough. We need collaboration to digitize,” said Richie Peng, Huawei wireless network product line chief marketing officer. “There has to be collaboration with partners, customers and universities. This way, we can lay down the path for an intelligent world featuring 5G and cloud.”
During the conference, Xu, the Huawei Institute of Strategic Research president, addressed how the company plans to proceed in its mission to lead the global 5G revolution in the face of pressure from the US government, which has blocked the Chinese tech giant from buying components from US suppliers.
He said Huawei plans to keep its focus on strategic business by investing in technological solutions. Xu added that despite the controversy, business growth for the world’s No. 1 telecom supplier and No. 2 phone manufacturer remains robust, citing a 23-percent surge in 2019 half-year revenue.
“Our partners and customers trust Huawei’s products and solutions,” he said. “The company is confident and capable of maintaining business development, and supporting partners and customers achieve business success. Huawei adheres to openness, collaboration and shared success.”