China builds its first ‘5G smart town’ where residents can download a film with their phone in just ONE SECOND
- Super-fast internet connection now reaches every corner of Wuzhen, China
- The locals can download movies at an impressive speed of 1.7GB per second
- Authority is also using two 5G-powered robotic boats to clean canal rubbish
- The country also has a ‘5G smart shopping mall’ and a ‘5G smart train station’
China has unveiled its first ‘5G smart town’ which boasts super-fast internet connection in every corner of the place.
Residents of Wuzhen, an ancient water town near Shanghai a bit bigger than Manhattan, would be able to download a high-resolution film with their phone in just one second.
5G signal is sent out to the nooks and crannies of the 27-square-mile town by more than 140 transmitters which went into service recently.
China has named Wuzhen the country’s first ‘5G town’ which has which boasts super-fast internet connection in every corner of the place. Wuzhen (pictured) is an ancient water town
Residents of Wuzhen are now able to download a 1.7GB film in just 60 seconds. They will soon ride in 5G-powered driverless taxis and check out the latest fashion in virtual fitting rooms
The 5G network was launched jointly by Huawei and state-run provider China Telecom.
The ultra-rapid connection will allow users to download TV series, movies or games at an impressive speed of 1.7GB per second, Zhang Yunliang, a director from China Telecom said.
The means residents of the town in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province would be able to enjoy the latest blockbusters in the blink of an eye, added Mr Zhang, who works for the wireless centre of the company’s Jiaxing branch.
Wuzhen, situated in eastern China’s Zhejiang, is also the host of World Internet Conference, an annual summit organised by the Chinese government to showcase its internet development
Shanghai is also planning China’s a 5G railway station with the help of Huawei. A 5G network will be fitted to the existing Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station (pictured) by the end of 2019
The officials have also started using two automated boats powered by 5G to collect rubbish on Wuzhen’s renowned canals.
More than 50 other futuristic features are in the pipeline, including 5G-powered driverless cars and virtual fitting rooms.
Wuzhen, whose name means ‘dark town’ in Chinese, has a population of around 100,000. It is also the host of World Internet Conference, an annual summit organised by the Chinese government to showcase its internet development. The latest edition was held last weekend.
More than 50 other futuristic features are in the pipeline for Wuzhen’s 100,000 or so residents
Public facilities featuring Huawei’s 5G technology have cropped up across China despite the criticism and scrutiny the Shenzhen-based telecom giant is facing internationally.
In May, a massive ‘5G smart mall’ featuring facial-recognition cameras and robotic personal guides opened its doors to shoppers in Shanghai.
In the luxury ‘L+Mall’ mall spreading over 12 storeys, customers can download films within seconds on their phones and watch latest blockbusters for free in their ‘personal cinema’ using 5G-powered 3-D glasses.
Huawei has teamed up with China Telecom to launch a 5G system in the luxury ‘L+Mall’ mall in Shanghai. The mall’s operator hails the new service for the convenience it brings to shoppers
Devoted shoppers will be able to use a robotic personal guide, which can take them to the desired brands and even plan the best shopping route for them in the colossal mall that occupies 140,000 square metres (1,506,000 square feet).
Shanghai is already planning China’s first 5G-powered railway station with the technology from Huawei.
A 5G network will be fitted to the existing Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station by the end of the year. The station is one of Asia’s busiest traffic hubs and handles some 60 million passengers a year.
WHAT IS 5G AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
The evolution of the G system started in 1980 with the invention of the mobile phone which allowed for analogue data to be transmitted via phone calls.
Digital came into play in 1991 with 2G and SMS and MMS capabilities were launched.
Since then, the capabilities and carrying capacity for the mobile network has increased massively.
More data can be transferred from one point to another via the mobile network quicker than ever.
5G is expected to be up to 1,000 times faster than the currently used 4G.
Whilst the jump from 3G to 4G was most beneficial for mobile browsing and working, the step to 5G will be so fast they become almost real-time.
That means mobile operations will be just as fast as office-based internet connections.
Potential uses for 5g include:
- Simultaneous translation of several languages in a party conference call
- Self-driving cars can stream movies, music and navigation information from the cloud
- A full length 8GB film can be downloaded in six seconds.
5G is expected to be so quick and efficient it is possible it could start the end of wired connections.
By the end of 2020, industry estimates claim 50 billion devices will be connected to 5G.
The evolution of from 1G to 5G. The predicted speed of 5G is more than 1Gbps – 1,000 times greater than the existing speed of 4G and could be implemented in laptops of the future
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