Tianyi Exhibition 5G innovation is eye-catching, and the vitality of the digital ecosystem is demonstrated

On November 7, the 2020 Tianyi Smart Ecosystem Expo opened grandly in Guangzhou. This is the 12th consecutive year that China Telecom and Qualcomm have jointly held this industry event. Today, Tianyi Expo has become an industry benchmark leading the direction of the global smart industry. The theme of this expo is "Smart Enjoyment on the Cloud", aiming to further promote the new foundation of 5G cloud network integration, gather the strength of ecological partners, enable industrial transformation and upgrading, and promote the prosperity of the digital economy. Li Zhengmao, general manager of China Telecom, and Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm, delivered keynote speeches at the Tianyi Smart Ecosystem Industry Summit Forum.

One year after 5G commercialization, the deployment speed far exceeded expectations

5G commercialization has entered its second year, and 5G has become the fastest-deployed generation of wireless communication technology in history. In the 18 months since the launch of the first 5G commercial network, more than 95 operators have launched 5G commercial network services in more than 40 countries and regions. In contrast, in the first 18 months of LTE commercial deployment, less than 15 operators in only 13 countries and regions launched 4G commercial networks. According to relevant forecasts, global 5G smartphone shipments will reach 750 million units in 2022. In 2023, the number of global 5G connections is expected to exceed 1 billion, 2 years faster than 4G to reach the same number of connections. By 2025, the number of global 5G connections is expected to be close to 3 billion, and 5G traffic will account for 45% of global mobile network data traffic.

In this regard, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf shared his views via video in his keynote speech at the forum: "The amazing achievements in global 5G deployment not only reflect the importance of 5G technology, but also highlight the hard work of the entire industry ecosystem. It is impressive that 5G, as an important part of the Chinese government's vigorous development of 'new infrastructure', is developing rapidly in China. Today, Qualcomm is working closely with industry partners such as China Telecom to promote the expansion of 5G. China Telecom is a leader in 5G independent networking technology innovation and commercial deployment, and also has strong cloud-network integration capabilities."

Since the three major Chinese operators jointly announced the launch of 5G commercial services on October 31 last year, China has delivered a very dazzling 5G report card in just one year. On the network side, China's 5G network construction speed and scale rank first in the world, and as of the end of September, a total of 690,000 5G base stations have been built. On the terminal side, the proportion of 5G mobile phones in the domestic mobile phone market shipments has continued to rise. In recent months, the proportion of 5G mobile phones in the overall mobile phone shipments has been above 60%. What is even more exciting for the industry is that Chinese mobile phone brands have entered the first camp of 5G commercial terminals in other parts of the world, and have taken the lead in the field of global 5G smart terminals. With the support of Qualcomm Snapdragon 5G solutions that are truly global, 5G terminals for commercial use in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia all have products from Chinese manufacturers.

In the process of promoting the popularization of 5G, Qualcomm has helped Chinese partners bring more 5G terminal options to consumers with its multi-generation Snapdragon 5G modems and RF systems and multi-level Snapdragon 5G mobile platforms. Among them, Snapdragon 865 has become the preferred mobile platform for empowering 2020 5G flagship terminals with its excellent performance in 5G, AI, photography, video, audio and security. In order to accelerate the realization of the vision of "5G for All", Qualcomm has fully realized the support of 5G technology across Snapdragon 8, 7, 6 and 4 series mobile platforms, so that ultra-fast 5G connections can benefit more consumers.

5G+AI drives intelligent cloud connectivity, opening up new opportunities for the industry

Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf said in his speech: "We are entering a new era of intelligent cloud connectivity driven by AI and 5G." Now, intelligence is gradually migrating from the cloud to the terminal side; in the future, the massive data from billions of edge terminals will require the creation of a new edge cloud. China Telecom also pointed out that the fourth industrial revolution set off by the digital economy will highlight communications, new technologies and computing power, and the network and cloud are inseparable. The integration of cloud and network will lead to a profound change in information infrastructure.

The edge cloud combined with terminal-side AI will enable a wide range of new use cases. Taking XR as an example, 5G can support Qualcomm's pioneering borderless XR to become a reality, allowing part of the load of XR devices to be processed on the terminal side, and relying on edge computers in the local network to handle heavier computing tasks, which will play a positive role in fields such as distance education and industrial manufacturing. In order to deepen the integration of XR applications and industries in the 5G era, Qualcomm has joined hands with domestic partners such as China Telecom to hold the XR Innovation Application Challenge for two consecutive years to jointly build an active XR ecosystem. At this expo, Shadow Chuang Technology, Nreal, Pico and 3 Glasses exhibited a variety of terminals equipped with the Snapdragon XR platform at the Qualcomm booth, bringing a cool experience that makes people linger.

In the field of smart transportation, the intertwined evolution of 5G, AI, cloud and other technologies will further promote the development of the automotive industry towards electrification, intelligence, networking and sharing. Qualcomm has been committed to helping automakers improve the situational awareness safety, natural interaction, and ultra-high-definition entertainment capabilities of vehicles and transform the driving experience by promoting the development of AI technology and improving computing power. Qualcomm Snapdragon Automotive 820a platform can provide rich graphics and multimedia functions, coupled with a wide range of visualization and operating system options and neural processing engines, to help automakers create differentiated features and excellent smart cockpit experience. At the Qualcomm booth, the Xiaopeng P7 equipped with Snapdragon 820a became a beautiful landscape, attracting a large number of visitors to experience the charm of a smarter and more personalized travel experience in the car. In addition, many new models launched in 2020 are equipped with the Snapdragon Automotive 820a platform, including the new Lynk & Co 05, Audi A4L and some models of the 2020 Xiaopeng G3.

In order to help more industries seize the unlimited opportunities created by 5G+AI intelligent cloud connectivity, Qualcomm is working with partners to continuously expand the types and coverage of 5G terminals. At present, more than 700 terminals equipped with Snapdragon 5G solutions have been released or are being designed worldwide, covering many terminal types such as smartphones, CPE, XR, PC, robots, etc. For example, the Lenovo Yoga 5G, Microsoft Surface Pro X, and Samsung Book S exhibited this time can bring an "always online, always connected" experience; the Pombert anthropomorphic table tennis robot built on the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform has created a new "human-machine confrontation" experience and has been used in the training of the national team and Shanghai Institute of Physical Education.

Innovation first, join hands with the ecosystem to expand the future of 5G

As a unified connectivity platform for future innovation, 5G provides a rich technology roadmap that will gradually unlock more new features to enable a wide range of new applications and services. 5G is essential to building a more resilient society. It will become the main artery of social information flow, an accelerator for industrial transformation and upgrading, and a new cornerstone for the construction of a digital society.

Qualcomm is working with the growing 5G ecosystem to expand 5G to new use cases, spectrum bands, and vertical industries by continuously promoting 5G evolution to fully unleash the potential of 5G. At this expo, China Telecom announced that its construction of the world's largest 5G network SA network will be commercially available globally, taking the lead in opening a new era of digitalization that empowers hundreds of industries. China Telecom General Manager Li Zhengmao, Qualcomm Global Senior Vice President Hou Yang and representatives of industry partners jointly participated in the launch ceremony of China Telecom's 5G SA large-scale commercial use and 5G customized private network. At this year's expo, Qualcomm also showed the industry its latest achievements in cutting-edge technologies such as 5G millimeter wave, 5G carrier aggregation, 5G borderless XR, 5G millimeter wave small base stations, and 5G industrial Internet of Things.

It is worth mentioning that in June this year, Qualcomm Ventures announced that it had newly invested in three Chinese 5G+AI ecosystem companies - device connection solution service provider Redtea Mobile, in-vehicle safety driving assistance system provider Tenshi Technology, and cloud gaming company Dalong Cloud - all of which appeared at the Qualcomm booth with their products and technologies. The realization of the future of 5G intelligent interconnection must rely on the power of the ecosystem. Qualcomm also adheres to this belief and accompanies the steady growth of start-ups in the 5G+AI ecosystem through venture capital, helping them to take root in vertical industries and create real value. To this end, Qualcomm Ventures established a $100 million AI venture capital fund and a $200 million 5G ecosystem venture capital fund in 2018 and 2019, respectively, to continuously promote the cultivation and expansion of the ecosystem.