From 2G voice calls, 3G mobile Internet, 4G high-speed video to today’s 5G technology, every upgrade of mobile communication technology has restructured the way humans connect and changed our production and life. As a new generation of mobile communication technology, 5G (the fifth generation of mobile communication technology) has not only achieved a qualitative leap in speed, but also broken the connection limitation between humans, opened the new era of “the Internet of Everything”, and provided strong support for the digital transformation of all walks of life.

The core advantages of 5G technology can be summarized as “three highs”: high speed, low latency and wide connection. High speed is the most intuitive advantage of 5G. Its peak rate can reach more than 10Gbps, which is about 100 times that of 4G. It can realize smooth experience of high-definition services such as ultra-high-definition video, VR/AR and cloud games — downloading a high-definition movie only takes a few seconds, watching ultra-high-definition live broadcasts no longer freezes, and VR/AR devices can achieve a more realistic immersive experience. Low latency is one of the core competitiveness of 5G. Its end-to-end latency can be as low as 1 millisecond, much lower than 4G’s 100 milliseconds, which can meet the needs of scenarios with high latency requirements such as autonomous driving, telemedicine and industrial control — autonomous driving vehicles can receive road condition information in real time, make quick responses and avoid traffic accidents; telemedicine can realize real-time interaction between doctors and patients, carry out remote surgery and remote diagnosis, breaking the barrier of uneven medical resources.

Wide connection is the key for 5G to open the Internet of Everything. The number of devices that can be connected per square kilometer can reach 1 million, which is 100 times that of 4G. It can realize the interconnection of massive IoT devices, covering various fields such as smart home, intelligent transportation, intelligent industry and smart city. In the field of smart home, 5G can realize intelligent linkage of home appliances, lights, security and other devices, making our life more convenient — you can control the air conditioner, refrigerator and lights at home through your mobile phone, and if you forget to turn off the lights or air conditioner when going out, you can solve it with one click; in the field of intelligent transportation, 5G can realize the interconnection of vehicles, vehicles and roads, and vehicles and people, build an intelligent transportation system, improve traffic efficiency and reduce traffic accidents; in the field of intelligent industry, 5G can realize remote control and fault early warning of industrial equipment, promote the transformation of industrial production towards intelligence and automation, improve production efficiency and reduce production costs.

At present, 5G technology has been widely deployed around the world. China’s 5G development is in the forefront of the world, having built the world’s largest and most technologically advanced 5G network. The number of 5G base stations and users ranks first in the world. 5G applications have penetrated into various fields such as industry, medical care, education, transportation and entertainment, achieving remarkable economic and social benefits. However, the development of 5G technology also faces some challenges: the construction cost of 5G base stations is relatively high, and the coverage area still needs to be expanded, especially in rural and remote areas; the business model of 5G applications is still being explored, and the profitability of some application scenarios is insufficient; in addition, the energy consumption of 5G technology is relatively high, and it is necessary to optimize technology to reduce energy consumption and realize sustainable development.

In the future, 5G technology will evolve towards “5G-Advanced” (5.5G) and 6G. On the basis of 5G, 5.5G technology will further improve the rate, reduce latency and increase the number of connections, realizing “10Gbps downlink, 1Gbps uplink, millisecond-level latency and 100 billion-level connections”, and expanding more high-end application scenarios; 6G technology will realize “space-air-ground-sea” integrated communication, break the limitation of ground communication, realize global seamless coverage, and promote human beings to enter the new era of “the Internet of Everything and Intelligence”. It is believed that with the promotion of 5G technology, digital transformation will accelerate, the Internet of Everything will become the norm, and inject new vitality into the progress of human society.