en.Wedoany.com Reported - According to data from the GSMA report "The Mobile Economy China 2026," China's 5G-Advanced deployment has covered more than 330 cities. As of mid-2025, the number of 5G-Advanced users in mainland China has exceeded 10 million.
By the end of 2025, 5G accounted for 55% of mobile connections in China. Major operators such as China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom have launched commercial 5G-Advanced services in mainland China, while operators in Hong Kong and Macau have also entered the market. China Telecom Shanghai has launched what the GSMA calls the first commercial "5G-Advanced × AI Uplink Network" in China, which includes over 5,000 upgraded sites, achieving peak uplink rates of 1 Gbps and continuous 20 Mbps uplink coverage in core urban areas.
The Ericsson Mobility Report indicates that uplink demand from AI, cloud, and mobile services is increasing, with connected devices expected to send more data to cloud platforms. Examples of enterprise and industry applications include AI-enabled IoT devices, autonomous vehicles, humanoid robots, drones, and 5G-native laptops. Operators are deploying 5G-Advanced in venues such as stadiums, tourist attractions, transportation hubs, and event sites, with these deployments linked to enhanced uplink capabilities, differentiated packages, and new monetization models.
5G Americas describes 5G-Advanced as part of the technological path toward 6G, based on 5G standalone network extensions from 3GPP Release 18 and subsequent versions, introducing AI and machine learning, XR, improved energy efficiency, and low-latency capabilities. Nokia has linked 5G-Advanced positioning and RedCap capabilities to enterprise uses such as asset tracking, industrial automation, logistics, automotive, and public safety.
The GSMA cites examples of dynamic resource allocation under 5G-Advanced, including China Mobile's premium service packages for high-density events, joint resource orchestration by China Telecom and China Unicom on shared infrastructure, and AI-based network allocation plans by China Telecom and ZTE. GSMA Intelligence states that operators investing in 5G standalone networks and 5G-Advanced are increasingly focusing on experience-based consumer propositions, including differentiated services and service assurance, leveraging AI and core network intelligence to optimize network performance.
The GSMA report also shows that in 2025, mobile technology and services accounted for 7.2% of China's GDP, equivalent to $1.5 trillion, and predicts that by 2030, the mobile industry's contribution will reach $2.1 trillion, with a compound annual growth rate of 7%. In a keynote speech at the 2026 Mobile World Congress Shanghai, Zhong Zhihong, Chief Engineer of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stated that China will continue to build next-generation digital infrastructure while advancing 6G research. He noted that China needs to plan and develop new communication and computing networks, including evolving from dual-gigabit networks to dual-10-gigabit networks, and continue work on 6G core technologies, standard setting, and related industrial ecosystems. Zhong also said that large language models should be better integrated into fields such as agriculture, education, and healthcare.
Wang Yue, Chief Technology Expert at China Telecom, stated that future AI-native 6G networks require closer coordination between network and computing resources. Speaking at RCRTech's Telecom AI Forum, she noted that current telecom systems are still based on deterministic architectures, relying on engineer-designed predefined interfaces, rule-based logic, and control mechanisms. Wang said that AI-native networks should be viewed from three layers: infrastructure, operations, and services. The infrastructure layer covers network, computing, storage, and AI resources; the operations layer handles optimization and orchestration; and the service layer supports AI-based services. Future AI services will involve more than just connectivity, requiring computing resources and latency adaptation to be managed alongside the network.
Wang pointed out that adding AI capabilities to existing systems has limitations, as current networks are not designed around AI workflows, nor built for AI-ready data, closed-loop control, AI lifecycle management, or real-time decision-making. The industry needs to jointly orchestrate network and computing resources to support new AI services. Examples of 5G-Advanced cited by the GSMA include enhanced uplink performance, dynamic network resource management, and support for a broader range of device categories. Wang's comments on 6G focused on the joint management of connectivity, computing, data, intelligence, and assurance capabilities. She stated that transformation requires changes in both the telecom and AI industries: AI systems must meet telecom requirements, and telecom architectures need sufficient flexibility to benefit from AI-driven operations. Physical AI systems, including robotics and industrial automation, are future applications Wang considers crucial for AI-native 6G, with one of the first required capabilities of 6G networks being the joint orchestration of communication and computing. Wang said that progress toward AI-native 6G will depend on whether networks can jointly expose and orchestrate communication, computing, data, intelligence, and assurance capabilities for customers.
Hrushikesh Mahananda of GlobalData told RCR Wireless News that China remains the world's largest 5G market, but mobile service revenue growth is expected to remain moderate due to structural and competitive pressures. He said that price competition, market saturation, and regulatory pressure to maintain connectivity affordability continue to impact average revenue per user, prompting operators to focus more on enterprise 5G applications and industrial digitization. Chinese operators are also expanding private 5G networks, cloud computing, edge services, and AI-enabled platforms. According to Mahananda, specific 5G applications in industries such as manufacturing, mining, ports, healthcare, and transportation provide clearer enterprise use cases for capabilities like low latency and network slicing.
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