China turns on its 5G telecom networks in the hot pursuit of global tech supremacy.

China turns on its 5G telecom networks in the hot pursuit of global tech supremacy. China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile disclose 5G fees of $18-$20 per month. These state carriers provide 5G network services up to $100 per month for 300 gigabytes of fast data transfer with 3,000 minutes of phone calls. Meanwhile, Chinese telecom carriers expect to start the 5G rollout by mid-2020. Some experts warn of challenges to 5G network proliferation since there are now few 5G-capable mobile devices.

5G commercial network services are now available in 50 major cities in China (e.g. Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen). By 2025, China is likely to become the biggest 5G market in the world. The country can account for the largest number of 5G connections worldwide. Specifically, China can reach almost 110 million 5G users in 2020. As the British mobile industry body GSMA suggests, this massive scale can dwarf the combination of North American and European 5G markets. 5G is one of the major battlefields where China and the U.S. engage in an active tech race. The recent Sino-American trade conflict resolution can help better align the economic interests of both superpowers in the 5G network domain.