On June 6, 2019, China officially issued commercial 5G licenses, marking the country’s entry into the so-called 5G era. As of the end of April 2025, China had a total of 4.4 million 5G base stations – more than three times the number in the United States – accounting for over 60 percent of the global total. Even in rural areas, the 5G coverage rate is expected to reach 95 percent by the end of the year. This has come at a considerable cost to the Chinese government. China’s three major telecom operators (all state owned) have collectively invested over 1.8 trillion yuan (US$ 250 billion), creating the world’s largest standalone 5G (SA) network.
However, China started taking a notable turn in 2025. On April 1, the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center launched four next-generation experimental satellites for satellite internet. This sparked questions over whether the trillion-yuan investment in 5G had been in vain.
Yuan Jungang, the chief designer of China’s satellite internet project, explained the rationale for this shift in a June 6 lecture. He noted that the move toward satellite internet stems from the “many shortcomings of the current terrestrial internet.”
- “Limited coverage” – Building base stations is costly and constrained by geography.
- “High energy consumption” – It’s estimated that China’s 5G base stations consume about 100 million yuan (US$ 13 million) in electricity per day.
- “Inadequate support for the low-altitude economy” – Current 5G antennas mainly face downward for ground coverage, providing insufficient connectivity for aircraft, drones, and other low-altitude flying devices. While the new 5GA (an enhanced version of 5G, also known as 5.5G) aims to address this need, upgrading from 5G to 5GA is extremely costly, and 5GA still has coverage limitations.
Whether China pursues 5G or Starlink-like satellite internet, both strategies are hindered by semiconductor restrictions. For example, Huawei, a key 5G equipment supplier and one of the largest holders of 5G patents, was forced by U.S. chip sanctions to release only 4G phones in 2023 despite China being deep into the 5G era.
Source: Epoch Times, July 13, 2025
https://www.epochtimes.com/b5/25/7/11/n14549799.htm