Chinese operators are on track to launch commercial 5G networks by 2020 and are expected to establish China as the world’s largest 5G market by 2025, according to a new study by GSMA Intelligence and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT). The new study “5G in China: Outlook and Regional Comparisons,” which was published at GSMA Mobile World Congress Shanghai, explores the near-term outlook for the testing and commercial launches of new 5G networks in China and other advanced Asia markets, and the potential 5G use cases for both the consumer and enterprise markets.
“Operators in China are collaborating closely with government and enterprises to launch what will become one of the largest 5G deployments in the world,” said Mats Granryd, director general of the GSMA. “In its early phase, 5G will offer an enhanced mobile broadband experience that will enable next-generation consumer services such as augmented and virtual reality, while at the same supporting mission-critical applications across a range of industry verticals.”
China Prepares World’s Largest 5G Deployment 
Mobile operators in China plan to run a phased testing period for 5G networks from 2017 to 2019 before launching commercially in 2020. Following commercial deployment, it is forecast that 5G connections in China will reach 428 million by 2025, accounting for 39 percent of the 1.1 billion global 5G connections expected by that point.
Chinese operators are expected to deploy “standalone” 5G networks, which will require the construction of new base stations to site 5G equipment, backhaul links and a core network. However, the report notes that another option being considered in several other Asia markets is to deploy “non-standalone” 5G networks that would run on existing infrastructure supplemented by targeted small cell deployment in areas of high density, allowing 4G and 5G services to run in parallel.

Source: Arab News