It enables speeds in the gigabit range and allows a stronger connection. This technology is based on the Internet of Things, Augmented Reality and virtual reality applications. In addition, smart communities, driverless cars, and other technologies can unleash their full potential, which will have a massive impact on people’s lives.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has awarded the frequencies with a range of 2,515 to 2,675 megahertz and 4,800 to 4,900 MHz to China Mobile. At the beginning of each month, China Telecom and China Unicom each received frequencies in the range between 3,400 to 3,500 MHz and 3,500 to 3,600 MHz. The announcement of the frequencies was also the starting signal for 5G. A source at a communications equipment supplier told Caixin magazine that 5G’s leadership could lead the way without assured frequency bands.
The person told Caixin that all three operators tested the 3.5GHz bandwidth from the beginning. However, the bandwidth assigned to China Mobile was ultimately 2.6GHz. If the companies now build networks before the final allocation, they could start over again because of the different bandwidths.
Both China Mobile and China Unicom expressed their enthusiasm to drive the development of the 5G network after the announcement. However, none of the three operators has confirmed the network standard, which they will eventually adapt.
The Securities Times cited a source that China Mobile may have begun to build a 5G network with non-standalone (NSA) specifications. It is expected that the Telekom giant will buy 5G devices in the first quarter of next year, at a time when suppliers can only offer equipment that meets NSA requirements.
At the same time, China Unicom is also expected to begin the 5G project by adapting NSA specifications in the first three months of 2019, the paper said. She added that China Telecom’s 5G strategy could begin building 5G in the third quarter by building on stand-alone (SA) specifications. At this time, equipment could already be available that can meet the SA requirements.
NSA specifications could offer faster download speeds and initially require less investment. In the long run, however, they would have to be retrofitted in terms of SA specifications. SA specifications could do the network deployment at once and support more scenarios of the 5G application, but they will need more investment at the beginning.
The Paper reported that a telecom operator would have to invest at least 5.5 to 17.5 billion yuan ($ 797.67 million to $ 2.54 billion) next year, depending on what standard each operator will adopt.
