China now has 450 mln 5G users: ministry

A visitor tries a 5G driving simulation system at the venue of the Second United Nations Global Sustainable Transport Conference in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 14, 2021. (Xinhua/Li He)

BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- The number of 5G users in China has reached 450 million, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Currently, these users enjoy network coverage through approximately 1.16 million 5G base stations, Luo Junjie, a spokesperson for the ministry, told a press conference on Tuesday.

Luo added that with the development of the country's telecommunications sector, the gigabit optical network can now cover more than 200 million households.

In the first nine months of this year, the business volume of the telecom sector soared 28 percent from a year earlier, with the business revenue increasing 8.4 percent.

The number of 5G users in China is expected to exceed 560 million by 2023, when 5G network will be used by over 40 percent of personal mobile phone users, according to an industry development guideline issued in July.