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Just how fast are China’s 5G networks? ZTE conducts tests in Guangzhou to find out

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Just how fast are China’s 5G networks? ZTE conducts tests in Guangzhou to find out
  • A field test by Shenzhen-based ZTE Corp in Guangzhou showed average download speeds 10 times of 4G networks
  • Coverage is not as extensive as 4G yet, although more 5G base stations are planned

Published: 6:30am, 16 Nov, 2019

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A Chinese customer tries out 5G services at a branch of China Mobile. Photo: EPA-EFE

Download speeds for China’s 5G networks far outstrip those of 4G networks, a speed test by Shenzhen-based ZTE Corp showed on Thursday, two weeks after the latest generation of cellular network technology was commercially launched in the world's largest smartphone market.

ZTE conducted the 15-minute trial of the 5G network in a car driving along a 6km-long route in Pazhou, a subdistrict of Haizhu in China’s Guangzhou city.

The field test in Guangzhou – one of the pilot cities in the roll-out of the 5G network – showed download speeds reaching more than 1,300 megabits per second (Mbps), with an average of about 1,000 Mbps.

Download speeds fluctuated as the signal switched between nine base stations along the route, with the lowest speeds hitting about 800 Mbps.

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A ZTE display at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, in February. Photo: AFP

The average 5G download speeds in the area, located relatively centrally in Guangzhou, are about 10 times faster than popular 4G networks, which support speeds of up to 100 Mbps, according to ZTE engineer Zeng Zhaojun.

ZTE is the world’s fourth largest telecommunications equipment vendor after Huawei, Nokia and Ericsson. Fellow Chinese tech titan Huawei Technologies, the world’s biggest network equipment maker, has invested billions of dollars in 5G networks and is considered to be the industry leader.

While countries such as South Korea, the US, Australia and the UK launched initial commercial 5G services in the second quarter, Chinese carriers have pinned high hopes on the mass adoption of 5G services in a country with over a billion people and amid a government push behind the new technology, which promises lightning fast wireless connections, reduced latency and massive capacity.

China’s three major telecommunications carriers – China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom – all launched their monthly 5G data plans on November 1

The three carriers’ monthly 5G tariff plans all have similar pricing models, starting at 128 yuan (US$18) a month for 30 gigabytes of data and going up to 599 yuan for 300GB. The prices of these new plans are close to existing 4G monthly plans.

The different plans also come with varying download speeds. The basic 128-yuan monthly 5G plan from China Mobile, for example, offers users a peak download speed of 300 Mbps. In contrast, consumers who subscribe to the carrier’s 869-yuan 5G family package get faster peak download speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second.

More 5G base stations planned, but full coverage depends on market needs

In July, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported that Guangzhou, the capital of south China’s Guangdong province, planned to build a total of 65,000 5G base stations by 2021.

The city’s target was to achieve uninterrupted 5G network coverage in main urban districts and key areas, according to the agency, citing the city’s bureau of industry and information technology.

China Mobile, the world’s largest telecommunications operator in terms of subscribers, said it would establish a total of 6,000 5G base stations by the end of the year. This will account for more than 40 per cent of the 14,600 5G base stations planned for Guangzhou by the end of this year.

Although many major commercial and residential areas in Guangzhou already have 5G coverage, the total number of 5G base stations currently in use is less than a third of that of 4G base stations. This means 5G smartphone users can only use 4G services in places that have yet to be covered by the latest network.

“There is no technical hurdle for full coverage of the 5G network in China,” Zeng said. “But carriers will form their respective plans for the 5G network roll-out depending on market needs.”

Major smartphone vendors in China started introducing 5G smartphone handsets before the network’s official launch, targeting consumers hungry for the fastest download speeds.

As of September, two months ahead of the launch, a total of 485,000 5G smartphones had been shipped out in China, according to market research firm International Data Corporation.

This is still a small proportion of the country’s overall handset sales, at about 1.3 per cent of the 36.2 million smartphone shipments reported by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology for September.

https://www.scmp.com/tech/article/3...etworks-zte-conducts-tests-guangzhou-find-out
 
China Mobile has almost 50,000 5G base stations
Source: Xinhua| 2019-11-16 13:38:21|Editor: Wang Yamei

BEIJING, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- China Mobile, one of the country's leading telecommunications operators, has nearly 50,000 5G base stations in use so far, the company's chairman Yang Jie said.

The operator currently provides 5G services in 50 cities, Yang said.

The company will continue to promote technological advancement and launch more 5G applications to better meet market demand, he added.

In early June, China granted 5G licenses for commercial use, marking the beginning of a new era in the country's telecommunications industry.

According to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, 5G technology is expected to create more than 8 million jobs by 2030.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-11/16/c_138559926.htm

China's 5G phone shipments reach 485,000 in Q3: report
Source: Xinhua| 2019-11-16 09:32:37|Editor: Liu


BEIJING, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Shipments of 5G phones in China reached 485,000 units in the third quarter of this year, according to global market intelligence firm International Data Corporation (IDC).

According to the latest IDC Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, most of these units were flagships priced over 700 U.S. dollars, but there was also activity in lower price bands.

Vivo gained an early lead by releasing two 5G models in one month, breaking into both the over 700-dollar high-end via offline channels, as well as pushing into a lower 450 to 550-dollar range via online channels.

In contrast, Huawei and Samsung were contained to the high-end, while ZTE and China Mobile landed in the 600 to 650-dollar range. Xiaomi was able to occupy the 450 to 550-dollar segment, according to the report.

Fifth-generation network construction in China has been picking up quickly with the support of the government and policies around co-construction and sharing between operators. But wider geographic coverage will take time, and IDC expects that device shipments will lead subscriber numbers for now.

"Fortunately, data tariffs are priced attractively against 4G, complete with tiering by speed for different user needs," IDC said, adding that it expects a significant amount of industry momentum to drive volumes in 2020.
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-11/16/c_138559526.htm
 
Half a million 5G devices shipped in China
Huawei’s flagship Mate X in short supply since Friday’s launch amid buoyant demand and production constraints
NOVEMBER 19, 2019

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The Huawei Mate X. Photo: YouTube

Almost half a million 5G-compatible handsets have been sold across China as of the third quarter this year, according to global market intelligence and data cruncher International Data Corporation (IDC), with Huawei leading the charge.

The company noted in its latest IDC Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker report that most of these units shipped and sold were flagship models priced at more than US$700.

“Fortunately, data tariffs are priced attractively against 4G, complete with tiering by speed for different user needs,” IDC said, adding that it expects a significant amount of industry momentum to drive volumes in 2020.

The 485,000 phones and tablets sold in China alone account for the bulk of global shipment of 5G gadgets, while most countries have yet to start their respective 5G rollout.

Huawei has been leading the charge as it supplied one in every three 5G phones shipped in the country between June and September, according to a separate report by Xinhua, after the Shenzhen-based tech juggernaut went on a spree of launching four 5G models earlier this year, including the foldable Mate X, the cachet of what Huawei has to offer in the 5G era.


The Mate X 5G went on sale in mainland China last Friday with a hefty price tag of 16,999 yuan ($2,422), nearly nine months after Huawei debuted the flagship device.

Stocks ran low soon after the launch as Chinese tech nerds and others who wanted a cutting-edge phone to flaunt their wealth vied to get hold of one.

Other than the gorgeous 8-inch display that can be folded up, connecting speed and processing are also impressive on the strength of Huawei’s indigenous Balong 5000 processor, touted as the world’s first 7nm multi-mode 5G chipset, 8 GB of RAM, integrated 5G antennae and 512 GB of internal memory. It can download a 1-GB file in the blink of an eye.

Chinese papers say Huawei is having a hard time ratcheting up production at a plant near its Shenzhen headquarters as the Mate X’s flexible OLED display is a challenge to mass-produce.

The company is yet to release preliminary Mate X sales and order figures, but those who paid online told Xinhua they would have to wait about two weeks to get their devices.

Also, Samsung’s embarrassing tech glitch of a cracking display on its own Galaxy Fold, which led to a recall and delayed launch, has made some buyers in China switch to Huawei.

Huawei’s compatriot rival Vivo has also gained an early lead by releasing two 5G models in one month, breaking into the 6,000 yuan range high-end segment, while offering cheaper devices to appeal to more consumers eager to experience 5G.

The construction of the 5G network throughout China has been advancing at full steam with policies encouraging co-construction and sharing between China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom. Services have already been available across 50 cities in the country starting from the third quarter.

https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/11/article/half-a-million-5g-devices-shipped-in-china/
 
Okay so how far a 5g station can send signals? As i saw numbers like 14000 stationns in a single city. Why so many ?
 
Okay so how far a 5g station can send signals? As i saw numbers like 14000 stationns in a single city. Why so many ?
You need thousands of thousands base stations and antennas to cover just a city. That is because of the nature of the frequencies 5g operate. The higher the frequency the lesser the range.

In a dense populated city you usually need one antenna in every 100m.
 
You need thousands of thousands base stations and antennas to cover just a city. That is because of the nature of the frequencies 5g operate. The higher the frequency the lesser the range.

In a dense populated city you usually need one antenna in every 100m.

Wow. Is there a way (or some research happening) to increase the range while keeping a high frequency?
 
Okay so how far a 5g station can send signals? As i saw numbers like 14000 stationns in a single city. Why so many ?
Take my city Shanghai has the example. Shanghai currently has about 10k 5G stations. The 5G coverage is good in the city; but in the rural areas, the coverage is far from good yet.

China Unicom's 5G coverage in Shanghai Downtown
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Coverage in rural area of Shanghai
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Shanghai is a 26 million population city. I.e. "14k 5G stations for a city" is an overestimate. Because to most cities in the world, their sizes will be far smaller than Shanghai.
 
Take my city Shanghai has the example. Shanghai currently has about 10k 5G stations. The 5G coverage is good in the city; but in the rural areas, the coverage is far from good yet.

China Unicom's 5G coverage in Shanghai Downtown
View attachment 590551

Coverage in rural area of Shanghai
View attachment 590552

Shanghai is a 26 million population city. I.e. "14k 5G stations for a city" is an overestimate. Because to most cities in the world, their sizes will be far smaller than Shanghai.

Still i thought 14000 is too much of a number. Here in Pakistan we have about same number of towers for 4g/cellular etc and it works fine. Btw what is the exact range of a single 5g station? I heard a single station cost around 700 dollars.
 
Still i thought 14000 is too much of a number. Here in Pakistan we have about same number of towers for 4g/cellular etc and it works fine. Btw what is the exact range of a single 5g station? I heard a single station cost around 700 dollars.
It is hard to tell what is the exact range of a 5G station. Because stations with different antenna numbers, or working at different site (city center with lots of tall buildings around vs. in the middle of a farmland), will result in different range.

BTW, I really don't think 14k 4G stations could work well for a big country like Pakistan. In China, we have about 5.2 million 4G stations in operation, but still many distant areas, or villages in deep mountains, fail to get the support of good 4G connection.
 
It is hard to tell what is the exact range of a 5G station. Because stations with different antenna numbers, or working at different site (city center with lots of tall buildings around vs. in the middle of a farmland), will result in different range.

BTW, I really don't think 14k 4G stations could work well for a big country like Pakistan. In China, we have about 5.2 million 4G stations in operation, but still many distant areas, or villages in deep mountains, fail to get the support of good 4G connection.
Pakistan has around 35k or more Mobile Tower.
Not all Tower are 4G and 1 last remaining Player introduce 4G in April 2019.
5G when introduce will probably be limited to Big/Medium Size Cities but we should remember that most of time User have access to cheap and unlimited volume of DSL.
 
Wow. Is there a way (or some research happening) to increase the range while keeping a high frequency?
Technically impossible

5g uses millimeter wave - that is a very high frequency band between 25 and 100 GHz. The environment as air, building, trees virtually swallow the waves aka the energy.

6g will use sub millimeter wave that will have much shorter range than 5g.

You can increase the range a bit by pumping more energy into the wave, but there is a limitation.
 

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