PARTNER CONTENT: Gigabit 5G speeds on China’s fastest metro trains are no longer just a concept, as the first section of Guangzhou Metro Line 18, projected to travel as quickly as 160 km an hour, is open for trial. High-speed 5G access on high-speed metro trains will create a new trend for those looking to experience or invest in smart travel.

China Unicom Guangzhou provides the high-speed connections across eight stations of Line 18: Xiancun, Modiesha, Longtan, Shaxi, Nancun Wanbo, Panyu Square, Hengli, and Wanqingsha. The installation leverages Huawei’s 5G digital indoor LampSite enabled with Huawei’s 5G indoor distributed Massive MIMO.

Field tests were conducted at each station, showing a single-user downlink rate that peaked at 1.39 Gbps, with an average of above 1 Gbps. This higher level of 5G performance is essential for delivering 5G Gigabit throughout the platform and concourse areas.

Stretching from the north of Guangzhou to the south, the main section of Guangzhou Metro Line 18 is about 62.7 km long and has nine stations. Eight of these stations have transfers to other lines or railways.

Guangzhou Metro now operates under a total mileage of 553.2 km. In 2020, it registered a passenger volume of 2.41 billion, amounting to a flow intensity of 12,000/km per day. It is the busiest metro operator in China.

Distributed Massive MIMO has proven effective to increase network capacity required for “ubiquitous Gigabit” while allowing operators to smoothly adapt to future capacity demand. As such, it perfectly lends itself to various smart services at the stations of this metro line, such as ticket processing and inquiries, registration based on facial recognition, and electronic invoicing, on smart terminals in a way that features remote interactive audio and video assistance.

Ubiquitous 5G Gigabit will enable passengers to perceive significantly increased data rates while exploring 5G smart applications during their time in the metro. By upgrading Gigabit speeds to cover metro platform and concourse areas, 5G will soundly meet the premium experience requirements for smart travel.