Consolidating New 5G Infrastructure and Co-Building New Future of Digital Economy

07 Dec 2022

For more than three years since the issuance of 5G licences, China Telecom has always insisted on building a high-quality 5G network to reward customers and empower demands for high-quality 5G communications from numerous walks of life. Through the co-building and co-sharing with China Unicom, the Company has built the world’s first 5G SA co-built and co-shared network with the largest scale and the fastest network speed. As of the first half of 2022, the number of activated co-shared 5G base stations reached 870,000, basically achieving contiguous coverage of key towns. On this basis, the Company continued to deepen co-building and co-sharing, with the number of activated co-shared 4G base stations reaching 870,000. The Company also proactively promoted 5G co-sharing on 700MHz. The co-building and co-sharing have generated huge economic and social benefits. The cumulative investment savings for both parties amounted to RMB240 billion, while the annualised OPEX savings reached over RMB20 billion. Meanwhile, the power savings reached over 10 billion kWh per year and the reduction of carbon emissions amounted to 6 million tons per year. This contributed a Chinese operator solution to the global communications industry. In the future, the Company will build 5G network with precision and efficiency, accelerate 5G co-building and co-sharing on all frequency spectrums and in regions. The Company will continue to enhance 5G coverage and strengthen network performance to further enhance customer perception and meet demands from market development. The Company will further strengthen 4/5G coordination, drive the migration from 4G terminals to 5G with high-quality 5G network, and continuously enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of 5G network utilisation. On this basis, the Company will accelerate the co-sharing of existing 4G network resources, promote the construction of one single 4G network, further optimise the quality of 4G network and enhance customer satisfaction. The Company will proactively seize the current opportunities brought by the demands from various industries in the economy and society for network-based, digitalised, and smart integrated information services, continue to deepen cloud-network integration in the 5G field, and strengthen the deep integration and consolidation of 5G with e-Surfing Cloud, AI, security, digital platforms and etc. The Company will also strengthen the application of new 5G technologies and the endowment of Big Data and AI, to support and empower the application of 5G + industrial Internet at scale and better leverage 5G to drive Industrial Digitalisation and the digital transformation of the economy and society. The Company will consolidate its competitive advantages, strengthen future development momentum, strive to promote the innovation and development of the national digital economy, and play a greater role in the digital transformation of the economy and society.