LIVE FROM HUAWEI ASIA-PACIFIC INNOVATION DAY, CHENGDU, CHINA: The deputy GM of China Mobile Research Institute shed light on its 5G strategy, explaining the operator developed its approach with a keen understanding that the move to the technology requires a massive investment and will be a long process.

Huang Yuhong (pictured) said it emphasised the importance of co-existence in its network planning, noting 5G investment also supports its 4G user base which won’t change their devices right away.

The operator, with a 59 per cent share of 4G users in China, set the target of providing 5G coverage in all cities at the prefecture level (more than 300) by the end of 2020. It aims to cover 50 cities by the end of this year and install 50,000 5G modules.

She said its 5G plus 4G strategy aims to reduce disruption, without having to build lots of new sites for 5G or interfering with its existing LTE network. Its spectrum in the 2.6GHz band is sufficient to support both networks in a shared architecture.

“Our new 5G base stations will also provide 4G users with a better data experience as there is synergy between the two networks,” Huang explained.