Huawei, ZTE Forging Ahead With Next-Level 5G

As reported from Shanghai by LightReading, China Mobile aims to deploy the technology in 300 cities across China, achieving large-scale deployment within the next two years.

China Broadnet has also launched 5G-A services, while China Unicom has started a pilot project. China Telecom has announced an“action plan,” but not a timeline for launch.

The first 5G-A deployments overseas have been in the Middle East. In Shanghai, Huawei launched its global 5G-A Pioneers Program, which includes du, the (United Arab) Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company and Oman Telecommunications.

Saudi Arabian mobile telecom carrier Zain, which also works with Huawei, launched 5G-A services last year and plans to cover 18 cities nationwide by decade's end.

Mobile AI applications on exhibit in Shanghai included autonomous driving, flying taxis, medical assistance, hotel management, exam monitoring, sports commentary and deepfake detection.

China Mobile and other Chinese carriers plan to build AI systems for government, public services and commercial enterprises, including large language models for a range of industries.

Mats Granryd, director general of the Groupe Spécial Mobile (GSM) Association, the organizer of the MWC events, told the gathering that China's growing presence in the world of large language models makes its mobile telecom carriers pivotal to the progress of AI.

They might not be as advanced as American models, but Chinese models are key to the development of new mobile AI applications.

Xiao Ming, president of overseas operations at ZTE Corporation, told Light Reading:“Years ago, we were the first in the industry to combine AI technology with 5G energy-saving technology...

“With the advent of large model technology, ZTE has applied these models to improve R&D and operational efficiency. Our self-developed Nebula programming large model ranks among the top in HumanEval [a benchmark for comparing the performance of large language models]...

“At our Nanjing Binjiang Intelligent Manufacturing Base, we actively employ large industrial models to create a new intelligent computing factory, optimizing costs, efficiency, energy consumption and quality to the extreme....”

ZTE is working with over 1,000 potential customers across 15 industries. Among other things, the company has created AI models for managing water resources, identifying gas leaks and road hazards, and generating emergency response plans.

China's“low-altitude economy” was also featured at the exhibition in Shanghai. Now a government priority, it uses drones, electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) flying taxis, the country's Beidou satellite-based navigation system, low-Earth orbit satellites and airborne and surface mobile telecom terminals to deliver products and services.

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China Telecom demonstrated a drone control system featuring Beidou and a 4G/5G airborne terminal but the greater speed and accuracy of 5G-A is crucial to the development of the business. From delivery services to surveying and mapping, there is huge economic potential nationwide.

Shenzhen was the first Chinese city to pass legislation to support the development of a low-altitude economy, but the capital metropolis encompassing Beijing and the port city of Tianjin plans to set the national standard with the creation of more than 5,000 related enterprises over the next three years, according to China Daily.

There is also potential overseas, particularly in those parts of the Global South where American alarm bells are neither heeded nor heard. Beidou has more satellites, far more monitoring stations and is more accurate than GPS.

Chinese drones are a target of US sanctions but the 8th Drone World Congress and 9th Shenzhen International UAV Expo, both held in Shenzhen in May, attracted visitors from more than 100 countries to view and purchase products made by about 500 Chinese companies.

The US government is primarily concerned with the military implications of drones but the low-altitude economy already looks like another next-generation, tech-driven market where China is poised to seize the global lead.

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