Reports suggest that China may be ahead of world in the race to commercialize 5G network. 5G will be the key driver for self driving cars, tele-medicine, Internet of things for limitless potential. CTIA commissioned study finds that China leads in the 5G readiness, lagging US and South Korea. The study ranked 10 countries based on their 5G spectrum, infrastructure policies and their plan to commercialize 5G.
The study was performed by research firm Analysys Mason which found that all three telecom operators (China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom) have affirmed to 5G launch dates. For which, one of the key requirement is Spectrum which is also committed to be allocated by China Government to all carriers. They will each get a minimum of 100 MHz of Mid band spectrum and 2 GHz in high band spectrum.
Rank for 5G race
Among the 10 countries under study, they ranked in three tiers. China, US, S.Korea and Japan falls in the first tier for 5G development. Then, comes European markets like France, Germany and Britain. Ultimate third tier contains Singapore, Russia and Canada.
- Countries like UK, Spain and Italy are also holding 5G spectrum auction this year.
- Several countries including US are thinking of using the mid band spectrum (3 to 24 GHz) for 5G. Source.
Also read: What is 5G and the services, applications with 5G?
There is a huge potential in making use of 5G for the economic benefits for the country. After the report surfaces, CTIA president Meredith Attwell Baker says, “I’m optimistic we will leapfrog China because key leaders in the administration, on Capitol Hill, and at the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) are focused on the reforms needed to win the race.”
The study also put the Europe’s lead in the 2G technology, Japan ahead in 3G and United states for 4G. The first 5G roll out can even happen this year 2018, starting from China itself.
Considering the competitive race for 5G among US and China, we also see some sort of relations for banning ZTE to buy components from US. Read here for more.
