Building a foundation layout, Wuhan power grid 5G construction aims at "world-class"

5G base stations will reach tens of thousands within this year, Wuhan seizes the 5G commanding heights

If electricity is the blood of industrialization, then network connection is the nerve of industrialization. Looking at the world's first-class cities, they all have first-class power grids and communication networks. Professor Sun Yuanzhang believes that "the interweaving of 'electricity' and 'network' can open up the upstream and downstream of the energy Internet and achieve a win-win situation for the entire energy ecological chain."

This coincides with Wuhan's infrastructure layout. In addition to building a world-class urban power grid, Wuhan is also currently building a world-class network - a 5G network.

Opposite the main media center of Wuhan Sports Center stands a 40-meter-high 5G macro station. The 80-jin box integrates the operator's 4G and 5G equipment. With the arrival of the Military World Games, 5G will be on display here: CCTV will use 5G as a dedicated channel for broadcasting, and live broadcasts of various venues during the games will be transmitted via 5G. In the competition venues, equipped with 5G networks, wearing VR glasses, and looking at any racehorse, its "past and present" can quickly appear in front of you in the form of video, text and pictures.

This is a large-scale 5G application since my country issued 5G commercial licenses in June this year. In fact, Wuhan has already made early arrangements around 5G and seized the initiative in China. In Wuhan, the first domestic 5G optical module order has been delivered, the country's first 5G intelligent manufacturing production line has been launched, 5G self-driving road sweepers with multiple driving modes have been put on the road, and 5G game cloud has enabled mobile phones to play heavy games without lag. At the same time, 5G is at the forefront of the country in promoting the construction of smart cities. The Dongfeng Motor Internet of Vehicles, Hanma 5G ultra-high-definition live broadcast, Tongji Hospital 5G interventional surgery, and Zhiyinhao 5G+VR 360-degree panoramic live broadcast have become national industry application benchmarks.

These domestically leading application scenarios are inseparable from Wuhan's advanced planning and accelerated construction of 5G networks.

Wuhan Mobile said that all venues of the Military Games are now covered by 5G networks. Mobile's 5G coverage is mainly within the second ring road of Wuhan city. Seven universities in Wuhan, including Wuhan University, have also opened 5G network services. About 4,000 5G sites will be built or renovated this year.

According to the relevant person in charge of Wuhan Telecom, this year, it is planned to build more than 2,000 5G base stations, covering all main urban areas within the Third Ring Road, as well as transportation hubs such as Tianhe Airport and three railway stations, 60 venues of the Military World Games, subways (Lines 1-4), greenways, etc. High-quality continuous coverage of 5G signals has been achieved in core business districts such as Wuhan Tiandi, Chuhe Hanjie, Wuhan-Guangzhou, Optics Valley, Zhongnan, Jiedaokou, and Wangjiawan.

According to staff from the Wuhan branch of China Tower, a communications tower infrastructure service provider, by the end of the year, the total number of 5G base stations of the three operators, China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom, in Wuhan will reach tens of thousands.

According to the Hubei Provincial Communications Administration, Wuhan will build a 5G network covering the entire city and put it into full commercial use in 2020, when 30,000 5G base stations will be spread across Wuhan. Currently, the province ranks third in the country in terms of the scale of 5G base station construction, second only to Guangdong and Beijing. From a certain perspective, the level of 5G development in China, represented by Wuhan, can represent the level of 5G development in the world.

"At present, the 5G upgrade of core network equipment has been completed, which means that our province has the ability to test 5G for commercial use." Hubei Mobile's 5G project expert said that after the core network upgrade, it will fully support the access of 5G terminals. As long as 5G mobile phones are on the market, users can automatically activate the 5G network without changing cards or numbers. This shows that Wuhan has an advantage in the country in the application of 5G mobile phones.

"Dual networks" weave the city's future competitiveness, Wuhan seizes the opportunity

Wuhan is building a foundation layout and is actively planning to build a world-class urban power grid and 5G network, which has been recognized by experts. Professor Li Guang, a consultant to the municipal government, a "Luojia Outstanding Scholar" of Wuhan University, and a professor at the Wuhan University Development Research Institute, believes that power grids and 5G are important indicators for Wuhan's comprehensive competitiveness and high-quality development in building a national central city.

"After 40 years of development through reform and opening up, my country's urban power grids have undergone major historical changes." Li Guang said that there had been regional power outages in the past, but the problem has now been fundamentally resolved. For a city like Wuhan with a growing net population inflow, a growing "core" industry, and rapid development, the new challenge is to establish a power grid system that can match future carrying capacity. This system must adapt to the new industrial system and keep up with the population leap of tens of millions. "The development of the night economy and the enhancement of the city's image through nighttime landscape lighting all require intelligent and efficient power grid systems. The increase in electricity consumption and the efficient deployment of smart grids are one of the indicators of whether a city's economy is booming." Li Guang said that the construction of a first-class power grid in Wuhan is the "standard configuration" for building a first-tier city or a first-class city.

Similarly, 5G network construction is also a "new infrastructure construction" for the future, which will greatly improve the efficiency of industrial production and social management, and greatly save production costs and transaction costs. Wuhan should vigorously accelerate the construction of 5G and other "new infrastructure."

Li Guang believes that Wuhan has taken the lead in power grid construction and 5G development, and by focusing on the layout from the perspective of high-quality urban development and future competitiveness, it will be expected to seize opportunities in the new round of development.

(Reporter Ma Zhenhua, Li Jiazhang, Sun Jun, intern Dong Ziang, correspondent Wang Xin)