Forum on 5G Innovation and Development of the Global Digital Economy Conference 2023 Successfully Convened
International | 2023/8/8As one of the key concurrent events of the Global Digital Economy Conference 2023, the Forum on 5G Innovation and Development was successfully held on July 6 at the China National Convention Center. This event was organized by the FuTURE Mobile Communication Forum, co-organized by Beijing Baicells Technologies Co., Ltd., and the State Key Laboratory of Integrated Services Network, Xidian University. Senior experts and leading figures from the fields of government, industry, academia, research, and application gathered at the Forum. Focusing on the theme "Unlocking Digital Potential with 5G" and centering on the technological innovations of 5G and the continuous evolution of network capabilities, they had in-depth discussions on the direction of 5G-Advanced, 6G key technologies, and the expansion of application scenarios.
During the background introduction, moderator Zhang Xinsheng, who is also an advisor to the Telecommunication Science and Technology Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China, mentioned that the digital economy represents a major trend in global economic development. Its rapid development, far-reaching influence, and profound impact are unprecedented, and it is driving profound changes in production modes, lifestyles, and governance. 5G, as the core of the new-generation information technology and the foundation of the digital economy, is constantly fostering new economic models and new business forms, promoting the optimized allocation of various elements and resources, and the integration of industrial chains and value chains, forming new momentum for economic growth. 5G-Advanced has further enhanced the performance of 5G networks and expanded the application scenarios of 5G networks, laying a solid foundation for unleashing the greater value of 5G in the era of digital economy.
Moderator: Zhang Xinsheng, Advisor to the Telecommunication Science and Technology Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China
Deputy Director Gu Jinxu of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology stated in his speech that Beijing has proactively deployed new infrastructure such as 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain. The city insists on empowering industries, urban development, and life with digital technologies to create a high ground for the development of the global digital economy. In the future, Beijing will advance the innovation and development of 5G and related digital industries in three aspects: First, it will continue to optimize the construction of network infrastructure, precisely enhance network coverage in key areas, promote the innovation and upgrading of 5G technology, advance the development of 5G-A, and support industries such as high-definition video live streaming, glasses-free 3D, and unmanned driving with faster speeds and greater network capacity; Second, it will innovate the development of 5G applications, create high-quality and sustainable new 5G application products, new business forms, and new models, enhance the supply efficiency of application scenarios, and build 5G pilot application demonstration zones; Third, it will construct a digital technology innovation ecosystem, innovate the layout in cutting-edge fields like 6G, future networks, brain-like intelligence, quantum computing, and metaverse to help industries and society improve quality and efficiency, and empower the development of the digital economy of the capital with intelligent digital capabilities.
Gu Jinxu, Deputy Director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology
Academician Wu Hequan of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) mentioned in his keynote speech that while China is at the forefront of global 5G network performance, the technology has not yet created a substantial divide in consumer application experiences when compared to 4G. For example, VR/AR and the Internet of Vehicles (IoV) demonstrate the need for high bandwidth and low latency, but the underdeveloped state of VR/AR products and challenges in the reliability and regulatory progress of IoV are hampering market growth. This indicates that the current capabilities of 5G are still insufficient. Furthermore, although 5G was initially proposed for industrial applications, the design of system architecture has been predominantly influenced by a focus on consumer applications. The 5G technology today cannot fully meet the industrial applications' requirements for large uplink bandwidth, deterministic latency, high reliability, and precise positioning. To address these deficiencies, 5G-A (5.5G) has emerged. It aims to achieve an order-of-magnitude improvement in performance over 5G by expanding the spectrum, further increasing the number of antenna elements, and harnessing AI empowerment.
Wu Hequan, Academician of CAE
The digital economy is a new form of future economic development. It is the digital application, digital display, and digital operation of the real economy. The basic telecommunication industry has invested nearly RMB 600 billion in the construction of 5G networks, directly driving a total economic output of approximately RMB 3.8 trillion. Wen Ku, Chairman of the Board of China Communications Standards Association (CCSA), stated that standards are an important technical support for industrial development, a vital tool for leading technological innovation, and also a crucial link in building a good industrial development ecosystem. In recent years, CCSA has completed more than 200 standards for digital infrastructure, including 5G, data centers, AI, cloud computing, and big data, providing important technical support for the digital transformation of industries and the high-quality development of the digital economy. It has also strengthened the connectivity of digital infrastructure and industrial cooperation with various countries around the world, actively participating in the establishment of international rules and standards in the field of digital infrastructure.
Wen Ku, Chairman of the Board of CCSA
5G-A is considered an intermediate stage in the evolution towards 6G. It connects the past and the future, defining new objectives and new capabilities for the development of 5G, enabling it to generate greater social and economic value, and exerting a significant influence on the future development of 6G. Xu Fei, Deputy Director of the Mobile Communications Innovation Center of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), emphasized in her speech that the Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) Task Force of the IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group is focused on five major topics: ISAC scenarios, network architecture, assessment methods, air interface technology, and technology testing of 5G-A. This group is progressively advancing research and technology testing in stages and promoting the research of domestic and international integrated sensing standard technologies. At the same time, the IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group is advancing the commercialization of 5G-A by ensuring the scheduled freezing of standards, accelerating the maturation of technologies, enriching the scope of applications and deepening the integration of industries.
Xu Fei, Deputy Director of the Mobile Communications Innovation Center of CAICT
China Telecom is continuously deepening 5G integration and innovation to facilitate industry transformation and upgrading. According to Cao Lei, Deputy General Manager of China Telecom Enterprise Information Services Business Group, on one hand, China Telecom is promoting the in-depth expansion of 5G industry applications from peripheral activities to core business segments, and on the other hand, it is deepening 5G integration and innovation to enhance its capacity to supply industry-oriented products. Currently, China Telecom has fully upgraded its 5G NICES Pro integrated product system, promoting the deep integration of 5G with cloud services, intelligence, security, and applications. Enabled by dual platforms, it drives a comprehensive upgrade of the 5G integrated product system, forming a standardized, modularized and scalable 5G capability cube, which accelerates the rapid implementation and deployment of industry application scenarios.
Cao Lei, Deputy General Manager of China Telecom Enterprise Information Services Business Group
Wei Chenguang, Deputy General Manager of China Mobile Research Institute, mentioned that 5G is creating new momentum for the intelligent development of production and life. In terms of in-depth intelligent production, which encompasses areas such as flexible production, remote equipment control, AI quality inspection and predictive equipment maintenance, 5G is helping to accelerate the intelligence of core production and manufacturing processes. In terms of the breadth expansion of intelligent production, both the low-cost upgrading of intelligent terminals and the intelligent upgrading of dumb terminals reflect the significance of 5G in promoting the inclusive upgrading of production terminals and expanding the scope of intelligent applications. As demonstrated by services like 5G New Calling, 5G is also comprehensively aiding the intelligent upgrade of daily life. With a multi-party cooperation system, we can jointly build new momentum for intelligent development.
Wei Chenguang, Deputy General Manager of China Mobile Research Institute
Under national strategies such as building China's strength in cyberspace and Digital China, China Broadcasting Network (China Broadnet) is comprehensively promoting the integration of the national cable TV network and the integrated development of the broadcasting and TV 5G construction. Li Shuang, Deputy Director of the Technical Department of China Radio and Television Mobile Network Co., Ltd., introduced that by accelerating the systematic upgrading of the wired network and coordinating the construction of integrated cloud-network computing capacities, China Broadnet has comprehensively enhanced the support capabilities of broadcasting and TV computing power, promoted the interconnection between wired networks and 5G, and served the national cultural big data system. By continuously cultivating the 700MHz 5G network and solidifying the foundation of industrial digitization, China Broadnet is moving from voice activation to interaction, creating characteristic 5G applications with new communication, and simultaneously advancing 5GtoB industry applications to empower a wide array of industries.
Li Shuang, Deputy Director of the Technical Department of China Broadcasting Network Mobile Co., Ltd.
Good network coverage is the foundation for a 5G-empowered digital economy. Zhou Mingyu, Vice President of Baicells, said that Baicells has continued to create differentiated and innovative solutions. At present, it has launched a series of 5G integrated base stations, the self-developed BCR200 RF chip solution, Smallcell network sharing solution, HaloB All in One solution and NRWA solution. In particular, the integrated 5G base station product series based on SoC and different transmission power levels (which can integrate HaloB functions) has provided more diverse, and lower-cost "new connection" options for 5G, and has served nine of the top 25 global operators. At present, there is an obvious trend of 5G empowering vertical industries and industrial intelligence worldwide. Baicells has also expanded its presence in the global market to help better develop the overseas 5G private network market.
Zhou Mingyu, Vice President of Baicells
As 5G performance continues to improve, the corresponding standards are also being constantly refined. According to Li Yan, Vice President of Technical Standards at Qualcomm, 3GPP Rel-18 has initiated the evolution of 5G Advanced, continuously strengthening the end-to-end 5G system foundation and expanding 5G to almost all terminals and use cases. In the future, mobile integrated access/backhaul and in-vehicle relay technologies will focus on vehicle-mounted mobile IABs to provide 5G coverage and capacity enhancement. 5G Advanced has also introduced the concept of dedicated system enhancement, and applications such as unbounded XR with separate rendering based on 5G. At the same time, Rel-18 also put forward a very important concept, that is, the construction of a more energy-saving and efficient green network will be an important aspect of mobile communication's evolution towards 6G.
Li Yan, Vice President of Technical Standards at Qualcomm
In the future, scenarios such as smart low-altitude economy, smart living, smart transportation and smart industry will face the demand for ISAC, which will become a bridge connecting the physical world and the digital world. According to ZTE Vice President Duan Xiangyang, the low-altitude economy has received multiple policy supports at present. The digital low-altitude operational environment is the foundation of the low-altitude economy's development. In view of the advantages of ISAC in low-altitude airspace and the requirements of base station sensing indicators, ZTE has focused on the deployment of integrated sensing, computation, control and communication evolution schemes and integrated sensing, computation, control and communication prototype platforms. In the future, 5G networks will evolve into integrated networks with advanced computing capabilities, meeting the needs of multiple future scenarios. The ISAC of 5G will become a strong driving force for the low-altitude industrial economy.
Duan Xiangyang, Vice President of ZTE
The establishment of 5G network capability injects strong momentum into the digital, networked, and intelligent transformation of traditional industries. Cai Yuemin, Deputy Chief Engineer of CICT Mobile, proposed that the edge fusion of integrated sensing, computation and communication is a new field of ICT integration, and the new type pf base stations will be a trinity of "connectivity, computing power and capability". In the future, 5G-A will also have stronger network capabilities, higher cost-effectiveness, a richer variety of business scenarios, and more intelligent and streamlined network operations. Leveraging emerging services, CICT Mobile will encourage operators to upgrade to 5G-A and expand the new value space of 5G-A with full-dimensional collaboration, including new services, new technologies, new networks, and new O&M.
Cai Yuemin, Deputy Chief Engineer of CICT Mobile
In the future, 6G will become a platform for intelligent connection of everything. Many countries around the world have successively released 6G research and development plans, and China also places great emphasis on the research, development, and advancement of 6G. Professor Wang Nannan, Deputy Director of the State Key Laboratory of Integrated Services Network at Xidian University, stated that AI in 6G will play a more important role in fields such as smart applications, intelligent control, data analysis, and intelligent sensing. The 6G intelligent endogenous network structure will be compatible with wireless networks and introduce AI algorithms to realize intelligent optimization, intelligent detection and estimation, intelligent networking and O&M capabilities.
Professor Wang Nannan, Deputy Director of the State Key Laboratory of Integrated Services Network at Xidian University
The attendees unanimously agreed that developing the digital economy, promoting the digitization of industries and the industrialization of digital technologies, as well as driving the deep integration of the digital economy with the real economy, is an inevitable choice for economic development. It is also an opportunity for development and a historical mission for the 5G industry. Proactively seizing the new opportunities of the digital economy era will be conducive to expanding new space for economic development.