China is set to make 5G networks available to the masses earlier than expected, giving the country a significant upper hand in the “race” against the U.S. for a 5G future.

At a technology conference in Beijing on Thursday, officials announced that China’s three major telecom providers will roll out commercial 5G services on Friday, two months ahead of plan. The initial launch will make the groundbreaking mobile Internet service available in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou. China’s aim is to bring 5G to over 50 cities by the end of the year. Yet even before this, China’s 5G commercial launch will immediately put China in contention for the world’s largest 5G network.

“This puts China neck and neck with South Korea, as the largest 5G network in the world, based on the number of 5G base stations,” said Stephane Teral, an analyst at IHS Markit. “No-one is close to (China’s 5G footprint).”

Over the past few years, 5G has attracted significant attention from governments and industries for its vast potential.

Beyond promising to provide nearly instantaneous movie downloads to mobile phones, 5G networks are seen as a boon to the Internet of Things; they could lead to the mass adoption of self-driving cars, the mass availability of robotic surgeries, and the growth of smart cities outfitted with high-tech features like A.I.-powered traffic lights.

China is by no means the first country to release 5G technology to consumers. Over 40 countries around the world—and dozens of cities in the U.S.—already have some version of the mobile technology in use. Yet the introduction of 5G to China’s domestic market stands apart because, unlike U.S. rollouts, its spectrum allows for the deployment of the technology on a massive scale.

Getting spectrums ‘just right’

In the United States this year, providers such as AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile began making 5G networks available to consumers in select markets. Consumers with access to this technology have enjoyed lightning-fast Internet speeds, but these networks have depended on base stations that employ high-frequency spectrums.

High-frequency spectrums technically provide the fastest Internet speeds, but they cover a limited physical territory. In China and much of the rest of the world, 5G development has largely focused on low- to mid-frequency spectrums because base stations with lower-level spectrums can reach a larger surface area……More Here