The following document is a draft of an ambitious Chinese plan to apply 5G technology to key industries and to society at large. The plan sets many qualitative goals and a few quantitative targets for China’s 5G industry to reach by 2023.
The Chinese source text is available online at: https://www.miit.gov.cn/api-gateway/jpaas-web-server/front/document/file-download?fileUrl=/cms_files/filemanager/1226211233/attach/20214/70d5f6c5d5d5456495daada2fb070e98.pdf
An archived version of the Chinese source text is available online at: https://perma.cc/Z3SL-GSKK
“Set Sail” Action Plan for 5G Applications (2021-2023)
(Draft for Comments)
5G fusion applications are an important engine driving economic and social digitalization, networkization (网络化), and intelligentization (智能化). This action plan has been especially drawn up in order to: implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s instructions regarding the acceleration of 5G development, give major impetus to the comprehensive, coordinated development of 5G, thoroughly carry forward the 5G empowerment of countless businesses, spur the formation of a high-level development model in which “demand pulls supply, and supply creates demand,” drive the upgrading of modes of production, living, and governance, and foster new dynamism to expand economic and social development.
I. Overall Requirements
(1) Guiding Ideology
While taking Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as a guide, and comprehensively implementing the spirit of the 19th Party Congress and the Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Plenums of the 19th Central Committee, let us accomplish the following: firmly establish the new stage of development (新发展阶段), implement the new development concept (新发展理念), construct the new development pattern (新发展格局), orient ourselves to the main battlefield of the real economy, orient ourselves to the needs of economic and social digital transformation, carry out overall planning of development and security, adhere to the laws of 5G application development, make an effort to link together 5G application innovation chains, production chains, and supply chains, coordinate and push ahead with technology fusion, industry fusion, data fusion, and standards fusion, create new products, new industrial formats, and new models relating to 5G fusion applications, and provide solid support for digital transformation, intelligent upgrading, and integrating innovations in all economic and social realms.
(2) Basic Principles
Insist on the pulling force of demand. Give full play to the decisive role of the market in the allocation of resources. Reinforce the mainstay status of enterprises in 5G application development, and further unleash the demand potential of consumer markets, vertical industries, and people’s livelihoods vis-à-vis 5G applications. Invigorate 5G application innovation.
Insist on the driving force of innovation. With a focus on the individualization requirements of 5G industry applications, intensify technological innovation, strengthen key technology and product research and development (R&D), and lay a technological and industrial foundation for 5G application development. While adhering to the objective pattern of gradually introducing 5G technologies, standards, industries, networks, and applications, stay in close tandem with international standards, and promote 5G application development in a focused way.
Insist on key breakthroughs. With a focus on 5G development key links, make an effort to solve key common problems such as protocol standard interoperability, the construction of an application ecosystem, and strengthening the industrial base. Support pioneering breakthroughs for key fields that are characterized by a solid foundation, a clear model, and broad prospects. Guide large-scale implementations of 5G applications for the purpose of demonstration.
Insist on coordination and linkages. Strengthen communication links among all parties, and expedite collaboration across departments, industries, and areas of research. Give free rein to the enthusiasm of industries and localities; introduce and implement new policy measures supporting 5G application development. Bring the pulling role of leading enterprises into play, and push forward deep interactions and collaboration between upstream and downstream enterprises. Form a “group competition” (“团体赛”) model.
(3) Overall Objectives
By 2023, the development level of China’s 5G applications should be significantly higher, as their comprehensive strength continues to grow. Create a new ecology wherein information technology (IT), communications technology (CT), and operational technology (OT) are deeply fused; achieve deep and broad dual breakthroughs in 5G applications in key fields, raise the dual pillars of technological industry and a standards system; and further improve basic capabilities in areas such as networks, platforms, and security so that, gradually, 5G applications will “set sail on a great voyage.”
—Major increases in the key metrics for 5G applications. The 5G individual subscriber penetration rate exceeds 40%, and the number of subscribers surpasses 560 million. 5G network access traffic accounts for more than 50%, and 5G network efficiency improves markedly. The annual growth rate in the number of 5G Internet of Things (IoT) terminal subscribers exceeds 200%.
—5G application results become prominent in key fields. With regard to personal consumption, create a batch of new business services, new modes, and new business forms for new types of “5G+” consumption so that subscribers’ “sense of gain” significantly improves. In industry verticals, the 5G application penetration rate surpasses 35% for large industrial enterprises. In electric power, mining, and other such fields, duplicate and disseminate 5G applications on a large scale. Further expand the scope of 5G + Internet of Vehicles (IoV) pilot projects. Boost the digital transformation and upgrading of traditional industries such as agriculture and water conservancy. With regard to society and the people’s livelihoods, create a batch of 5G+ smart education and 5G+ smart healthcare model projects, and make use of 5G smart cities or similar management levels. Create over 100 5G demonstration application models in each key industry.
—Continually improve the 5G application ecosystem. With preliminary construction of mechanisms for coordination and linkages across departments, industries, and areas of research, form a new 5G application harmonization and innovation model in which government departments guide, leading enterprises provide the driving force, and small- and medium-size enterprises assist in a coordinated way. Incubate a batch of widely influential 5G application solution providers and form more than 100 kinds of 5G application solutions. Complete a system framework for basic general purpose and key-industry 5G application standards, and develop more than 30 standards for key industries.
—Significantly strengthen critical basic support capabilities. 5G network coverage levels continually improve. The number of 5G base stations owned per 10,000 persons is over 18, and more than 3,000 5G industry virtual private networks (VPNs) are built. Build a batch of 5G fusion application innovation centers, and further increase the capabilities of application innovation-oriented public service platforms. Further improve 5G application security safeguard capabilities. Create 10 to 20 5G application security innovation demonstration centers, and establish 3 to 5 areas as demonstration models. Basically form a security safeguard system adapted to 5G application development.