When the news that China has begun to roll out 5G technology research was released (5G is the fifth generation of mobile communication technology), those with experience of surfing the Web freely with their 4G phones pricked up their ears. But some people remain puzzled - from 2G, to 3G, 4G and then 5G, apart from the faster speed and more stable signal, what technological breakthroughs can we expect?

Compared to the 4G peak rate of 100Mb per second, the theoretical rate of 5G can reach 10Gb per second.

Zeng Jianqiu, a professor at the School of Economics and Management of the Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications, compares the development of bandwidth - from 10 megabytes for 3G, to 100 megabytes for 4G, to 1000 megabytes for 5G - to driving along a two-lane freeway which becomes a 20-lane freeway and then a 200-lane freeway.

In addition, the popularity of 5G may also bring about a set of unified global communications standards.

At the Mobile World Congress held in early March in Shanghai, Ericsson, ZTE, Huawei and other companies showcased their latest research in 5G technology. It is expected that 5G will be brought into commercial use as early as 2020.

When asked if the development of 5G will waste resources, Zeng Jianqiu explained that each new generation of communications technology can be backward compatible. After we upgrade technology on the basis of the original base station, the old and new technologies can share equipment. Currently, 4G can be compatible with 2G, so there will be no waste of resources

Experts say that 5G will meet the needs of rapidly-developing mobile Internet and networking services. Huawei Vice President Hu Houkun has said that the future 5G network will have up to 100 billion links, so that "the all things Internet" can become a reality.

This article was edited and translated from 《中国着手布局5G市场 速度将达每秒10Gb》, source: People's Daily