City advocates use of 5G technology

Writer: Han Ximin  |  Editor: Holly Wang  |  From: Shenzhen Daily  |  Updated: 2021-02-01

A 5G-based industrial drone mounted with a speaker and infrared cameras patrols Tanglangshan Country Park in Nanshan District recently. Photos from Duchuang

A 5G-based industrial drone mounted with a speaker and infrared cameras has been used recently to patrol Tanglangshan Country Park in Nanshan District, Shenzhen, local media reported.

Within 60 seconds, the drone ascended to the height of 80 meters to patrol the mountain park along the hiking roads and key monitoring areas, sending feedback to the park management office. In emergencies, the management can use the speaker to talk to tourists on the ground, reports said.

To patrol the 991-hectare park is a physical challenge for a park ranger, which takes 2 hours. Yet it is a piece of cake for a drone now.

The thermal-imaging technology of the cameras can instantly detect abnormal temperatures.

“In case of a fire, the AI system can sound an alarm and locate the position. It is very important in firefighting especially in the dry winter season,” Liu An with the park management office was quoted as saying.

The park’s story is the tip of the iceberg of applications of 5G in the city, the first city in China to enter the 5G era.

The city is encouraging the use of 5G in industrial Internet, Internet of Vehicles, high-definition videos and smart drones, according to a press conference jointly held by seven government agencies Thursday.

Model projects will be selected each year and will each receive a maximum subsidy of 30 million yuan (US$4.7 million).

To build a digital government, more money will be spent on applications of 5G in firefighting, production safety, emergency services, police affairs and urban governance, according to the conference.

In an effort to become a global benchmark city in the construction and application of 5G networks, Shenzhen unveiled a slew of measures to promote high-quality 5G development last December.

The China Academy for Information and Communications Technology forecasts that during the period from 2020 to 2025, 5G commercial applications will directly drive 8.2 trillion yuan in information consumption.

Shenzhen boasts the world’s largest 5G network, with all areas covered by 5G, Mayor Chen Rugui announced at a press conference last August.

With a total of 46,480 stations, Shenzhen is the world’s No. 1 city in terms of 5G stations per person.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Information, China will add more than 600,000 5G base stations in 2021.(Han Ximin)

The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology has said that the country is likely to spend 1.2 trillion yuan on 5G network construction by 2025, driving more than 3.5 trillion yuan of investment in the upstream and downstream industrial chains and other related sectors by then and 8.2 trillion yuan in information consumption.

Around 20 percent of 5G applications will be consumer-oriented, and 80 percent of its commercial potential lies in its use in traditional sectors.