Shenzhen strives to become a global benchmark city in new-type information infrastructure, which will lead the world in terms of scale and innovation level, as well as a digital pioneer city worldwide by the end of 2025, an official from the city’s industry and information technology bureau said at a press conference yesterday.
Chen Huaping, deputy head of the bureau, said that new information infrastructure that is ubiquitous, advanced, smart, high-speed, low-carbon, safe and reliable will basically take form in the city by the end of 2025, whose network scale and service quality will top the world.
He said in order to achieve the goal, Shenzhen has unveiled an action plan, detailing six major tasks, 28 measures and 10 highlight projects, underlining the upgrading of network access facilities, the construction of an information and communication hub, the building of a sensing system for the Internet of Things (IoT), and collaborative deployment of data and computing facilities.
Chen said the action plan is expected to bring the convenience of digital society to the general public, focusing on promoting gigabit networks and upgrading internet speeds for millions of users.
In 2022, the threshold broadband internet speed for new household and business users is set at 500 Mbps and will reach 1,000 Mbps in 2023. Internet fee discounts are expected to be offered to small and medium-sized enterprises and special groups of residents, such as the elderly and people with disabilities, as well as teachers and frontline workers during the pandemic.
The city also plans to further optimize and improve its 5G network. In 2022, the bureau will expand 5G network construction in transportation hubs, industrial parks, large shopping malls and business streets, hospitals, schools, cultural and sports venues, and scenic tourist spots, Chen said.
Besides, a citywide Internet of Things is expected to adopt 4G, 5G and NB-IoT technologies to provide services in city management, public security and environment monitoring.
The city will also boost the development of the digital economy, digital survival of individuals, digital life of families, digital operations of businesses, digital governance of governments and a smart city based on digital twins.
Shenzhen is the first city in China to achieve full-scale 5G deployment and will look to play a leading role in driving the country’s technological development, according to a China Daily report in 2020.
The city has so far set up over 51,000 5G base stations, providing services to more than 9 million users, according to Chen.
Generally speaking, the new generation of information infrastructure includes infrastructure related to 5G technology, the industrial internet and the Internet of Things, according to Wang Jian, director of the Cross-Border E-commerce Research Center of University of International Business and Economics.