On October 30, 2024, the Global Mobile Broadband Forum 2024 held a captivating event at the Halic Congress Center in Istanbul, where industry leaders gathered to discuss policy development, ecosystem dynamics, and business strategies during the 5.5G Industry Development Forum.
A highlight of the event was the keynote speech by Pan Guixin, Chief Innovation Officer and General Manager of the Network Product Innovation Centre at China Unicom Guangdong. He introduced the U-Joy Cities 3.0 initiative, which leverages cutting-edge 5.5G technology and AI to foster innovation and drive digital transformation across various industries.
A Legacy of Innovation
Since establishing the 5G U-Joy Cities program in 2022, China Unicom Guangdong has consistently been at the forefront of the telecommunications industry, earning the prestigious GSMA Award for two consecutive years. Their pioneering efforts have set new standards in network technology, establishing China Unicom Guangdong as a significant influencer in the sector.
Strategically located in the bustling Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Guangdong serves as the hub of China’s economic vitality and collaborative innovation. Within this dynamic region, China Unicom invited stakeholders to its 5G Innovation Lab in Guangzhou, which hosted analysts from 13 international organizations this year. Hao Liqian, then general manager of Guangdong Unicom, highlighted the company's mission, which is to integrate computing and communication networks to make computing as accessible as water and electricity.
In tandem with this momentum, China Unicom Guangdong has actively participated in global forums like the MBBF 5.5G Industry Forum.
The Largest Shared 5G SA Network with Leading Applications
Currently, China Unicom Guangdong operates the world's largest provincial level, shared 5G standalone (5G SA) network and possesses the most significant 5G C-band spectrum, creating an exceptional environment for 5G application innovation. This robust infrastructure lays the foundation for unprecedented advancements in connectivity and services, enabling various opportunities across multiple sectors.
In the context of the 5.5G and AI era, Pan Guixin emphasized the strategic direction of China Unicom Guangdong, stating, "In the 5.5G and AI era, we will focus more on vertical segment applications such as families, manufacturing, Massive IoT, marine, and low-altitude applications." By outlining these targeted areas, he underscored the company's commitment to developing tailored solutions that meet the unique needs of different sectors.
The Guangdong branch’s commitment to these sectors reflects its understanding of the critical role that tailored solutions play in driving efficiency, productivity, and growth. By leveraging cutting-edge technologies, China Unicom aims to enhance digital capabilities and facilitate intelligent transformation, positioning itself as a leader in this evolving landscape.
Advancing 5.5G: Five Key Highlights
In the 5.5G and AI era, China Unicom Guangdong will concentrate on five key areas: experience monetization, the U Mobile Intranet, manufacturing, RedCap IoT, and low-altitude applications.
- Experience Monetization: China Unicom Guangdong aims to unlock new revenue streams by transforming user experiences into monetizable assets. By leveraging advanced analytics and user engagement strategies, they will create personalized services that enhance customer satisfaction while driving business growth.
- U Mobile Intranet: The U Mobile Intranet will be a robust backbone for seamless communication and collaboration within enterprises. By integrating secure, high-speed connectivity with cloud-based services, businesses will benefit from enhanced operational efficiency and decision-making capabilities.
- Manufacturing: In the manufacturing sector, China Unicom Guangdong will harness the power of 5.5G to facilitate smart factories equipped with real-time monitoring, automation, and data analytics.
- RedCap IoT: Introducing RedCap IoT with digital twin will pave the way for efficient, cost-effective and intelligent connectivity for many IoT devices.
- Low-Altitude Applications: The company plans to extend 5.5G communications networks beyond traditional land-based uses to encompass low-altitude environments, such as drone operations and aerial surveillance.
Transitioning from Traffic Monetization to Experience Monetization
China Unicom Guangdong has firmly established itself as a vibrant live-stream hub, boasting a community of over 500,000 high-value users for live streaming. This dynamic environment has contributed to a remarkable increase in daily average usage (DOU), which has risen by 6 GB, alongside a significant 76% increase in average revenue per user (ARPU). These metrics highlight the growing demand for high-quality digital experiences and the potential for innovative monetization strategies.
In response to this evolving landscape, China Unicom Guangdong is taking a significant step forward. "We've launched new 5.5G packages for live streaming, video meetings, and gaming, with AI user-specific features such as real-time accurate experience awareness and on-demand dynamic experience assurance," explained Pan Guixin. These packages will enhance connectivity and leverage advanced AI features to elevate the overall user experience.
U Mobile Intranet: Access Anytime, Anywhere, Seamlessly
China Unicom Guangdong has taken a pioneering step by launching the U Mobile Intranet, which was initially tailored for universities and large institutions. This innovative platform garnered the prestigious 5G Industry Challenge Award at MWC 2023. It has set a new standard in connectivity, providing users with secure and convenient access to private networks.
Now it has introduced products specifically designed to extend the benefits of this technology to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and families. The U Mobile Intranet for families and SMEs delivers a private digital space. It also offers an exceptional price-to-performance ratio, making it an attractive option for users seeking security and value.
Enhancing 5.5G Applications with U Mobile Intranet
As part of its commitment to innovation, the U Mobile Intranet integrates with the 3T Package, which has already attracted over 10,000 high-end users. “It can provide our users with 1T U Mobile directional traffic, 1T HD video resources for entertainment and learning, and 1T storage local NAS and cloud with 5.5G and F5.5G technology innovation,” commented Pan Guixin, reflecting a solid commitment to leveraging advanced 5.5G and F5.5G technology innovations to enhance user experiences and address the growing need for high-capacity, secure, and efficient digital services.
By merging these capabilities, China Unicom Guangdong is positioning the U Mobile Intranet as a vital resource for individual users and businesses, facilitating seamless access to digital services anytime, anywhere. This holistic approach enhances user experience and drives the adoption of 5.5G applications across various industry segments.
Building the Largest 5.5G Black-Light Factory
In collaboration with industry leaders, GREE and Huawei, China Unicom Guangdong has established the world's largest black-light 5.5G factory. This cutting-edge facility is at the forefront of technological innovation, achieving mmWave Gbps uplink speeds and a remarkably low latency of just 12 ms.
The factory supports over 3,000 Massive RedCap connections, allowing for the extensive connectivity of various devices and sensors, which enhances the factory's operational capabilities. Additionally, it features precise meter-level, low-power positioning technology, facilitating the real-time tracking and management of equipment and processes throughout the production line.
A significant advantage of this facility is its simplified 5G LAN, which requires no complex configuration or ongoing maintenance.
5.5G Intelligent Connections for Everything with RedCap
Pan Guixin highlighted that China Unicom Guangdong is actively developing next-generation 5G IoT networks. It boasts the world's largest RedCap network, which comprises 127,000 sites. This expansive network supports various applications, including manufacturing, digital grids, the Internet of Vehicles (IoV), and the Internet of Videos. Providing extensive coverage and robust connectivity enables seamless communication and data exchange across diverse sectors.
As the company advances into the 5.5G and AI era, it strongly emphasizes leveraging digital twin technologies in conjunction with RedCap. Digital twin technology involves creating virtual replicas of physical assets and systems, allowing real-time monitoring and analysis. This approach facilitates the creation of an intelligent IoT ecosystem, where data from physical devices can be utilized to optimize operations, enhance decision-making, and improve overall efficiency.
Exploring Opportunities in the Low-Altitude Economy
“We are the first to propose a digital, low altitude, converged private network architecture that integrates communications, sensing, computing, and navigation,” noted Pan Guixin.
This pioneering approach has laid the foundation for developing the UAV Intelligent Operation Platform and a range of UAV terminals, successfully supporting various urban and rural revitalization projects across Guangdong. By leveraging drone technology and advanced connectivity, these initiatives enhance agricultural productivity, improve infrastructure monitoring, and facilitate emergency response efforts.
Moving forward, China Unicom Guangdong will focus on building three key capabilities in the digital low-altitude sector. These include establishing robust private networking solutions that ensure secure data transmission, enhancing communication and sensing technologies to enable real-time environmental monitoring and data collection, and advancing intelligent computing capabilities to process and analyze data efficiently.
U-Joy Cities 3.0: Continuous Innovation with 5.5G and AI
As AI continues to rise across industries, the U-Joy Cities 3.0 initiative underscores the critical importance of a robust, significant, data foundation to maximize the potential of cloud and network resources. By integrating advanced analytics and machine learning (ML) algorithms, China Unicom Guangdong is creating a data-driven ecosystem that enhances decision-making processes and fosters personalized user experiences across different sectors.
As 2024 marks China Unicom Group's 30th anniversary, the company is committed to leading in the intelligent era through 5G advancements.
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