Xinhua News Agency, Barcelona, Spain, March 1 (Reporter Guo Shuang, Shan Weiyi) "Walking at the conference site, from flying cars to artificial intelligence ......It's hard to imagine that the first mobile phone call** from a human phone was only about 50 years ago. John Hoffman, CEO of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association, said at Mobile World Congress 2024 that people are experiencing the next technological revolution, and emerging technologies and digital transformation are reshaping every aspect of people's work and life.
The global 5G development has entered the "second half", 5G-A will "grab the C position", generative AI will accelerate the pace of commercialization, the industry will anchor "sustainable", and the momentum of cross-border integration will continue to ......The annual telecommunications event, which concluded on February 29 in Barcelona, Spain, once again showcased the latest trends in the global mobile ecosystem.
The global 5G development has entered the "second half".
As the fastest-growing generation of mobile broadband communication technology, the number of global 5G connections has increased to 1.6 billion by the end of 2023 and is expected to increase to 5.5 billion by 2030, according to new data released by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association think tank. The next development trend of 5G is undoubtedly a major focus of the industry.
At this conference, 5G-related content includes 5G commercialization and investment monetization, 5G-A, cloud computing and edge computing, non-terrestrial networks and satellite communications. Among them, 5G-A, which is based on 5G, has become the focus.
On February 28, at the Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, people focused on 5G-A technology at Huawei's booth. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Gao Jing Mobile communication technology generally has an intergenerational life cycle of 10 years. Because the technology gap between generations is too large, there are often watersheds in the technological transition at this mid-point point in the decade. 5G-A is based on the evolution and enhancement of fifth-generation mobile communication technology. It increases the downlink rate to 10 Gigabit and the uplink capability to Gigabit, and has new features such as deterministic experience, high-precision positioning, lightweight, and passive IoT.
2024 is the first year of 5G-A commercialization, which has become an industry consensus, which is expected to further accelerate the popularization of 5G. According to the data, as of January 2024, 261 operators in 101 countries and regions have launched commercial 5G services. By 2030, 5G connectivity is expected to account for 56% of global mobile connectivity, making 5G the dominant connectivity technology.
At this conference, many global mobile communication companies such as Qualcomm, Ericsson, Huawei, and ZTE, as well as major operators around the world, released 5G-A-related technical products and services solutions on the spot. Many representatives of participating enterprises believe that China leads the world in terms of 5G deployment maturity.
Generative AI accelerates commercialization.
Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is quietly changing the landscape of all industries, and the communications technology industry is no exception. In addition to the deployment of operators, in the communication industry chain, smart phones are evolving into "AI mobile phones", computers into "AI computers", chips into "AI chips", and AI hardware carriers such as smart rings and robots are emerging in ......an endless streamThe traditional boundaries of the communications industry are being broken down by AI.
In the past, driven by AI tools such as ChatGPT, generative AI has not only entered people's daily lives, but also brought a number of new application cases to the communication industry, such as customer support, generation and intelligent solution generation. "This year will be an important year for the commercialization of generative AI, which is expected to address two of the top concerns for operators: ROI and technical maturity," the GSGA noted. ”
On February 28, at the Mobile World Congress 2024 in Barcelona, Spain, a visitor experienced the newly upgraded Nubia 5G+ artificial intelligence glasses-free 3D tablet at the ZTE booth. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Gao Jing At this conference, the topic of how to develop and integrate AI and the mobile communication industry has become a hot topic of discussion, and major manufacturers are actively releasing relevant technologies and solutions. For example, Intel showcased its AI-related strategy at the conference, launching a series of AI network innovations, edge AI platforms, and Core Ultra processors, and integrating AI into PCs.
The continuous release of downstream demand is also driving upstream chip manufacturers to expand their layout. Ammon Ammon, President and CEO of Qualcomm, believes that "hybrid AI (distributed processing in the cloud and at the device) is the future of generative AI", which requires optimal connectivity to help generative AI scale and extend across clouds and devices.
By 2030, at least half of all edge computing deployments will incorporate AI. This further raises operators' demand for network intelligence.
Yang Jie, Chairman of China Mobile, said that with the significant progress of general artificial intelligence represented by large language models, AI has been upgraded from an auxiliary means to help thousands of industries improve quality and efficiency, and has been upgraded to an indispensable infrastructure and core capability to support economic and social transformation, bringing important opportunities for the new generation of information technology to be deeply integrated into all aspects of the economy and society and promote productivity reform.
Sustainability" and cross-border integration are of concern.
Looking at the evolution of communication networks, higher performance and lower cost are two key drivers. When answering the question of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) on what are the network transformation priorities of enterprises in the industry from 2023 onwards, operators answered "sustainable" the most.
Energy costs remain an important component of operating expenses, and there are potential opportunities for operators and partners to cut costs and improve margins. With the rapid development of 5G, traffic will inevitably increase, and how to build the entire ecosystem of the communications industry more efficiently, cost-effectively, and sustainably has become an important issue for the industry, which is not only an indispensable part of the industry's value proposition, but also a business opportunity and an environmental requirement.
At this conference, many companies launched products and solutions with the concept of "sustainability". For example, Huawei's "0 bit 0 watt" energy-saving solution won the "Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough Award" at the Global Mobile Awards, a major award in the mobile communications industry.
On February 28, at the 2024 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, a blogger broadcast live in front of Ruijun's unmanned coffee station. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Gao Jing In addition, the communications industry still maintains the momentum of cross-border integration. In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony, President of the Global System for Mobile Communications Association, the organizer of the Mobile World Congress, said that the interconnection between communications and other industries will help promote collaborative development and will benefit businesses and people. "More than half of the attendees were from non-telecom industries, and the connectivity between industries allows us to communicate and collaborate more closely, and technology brings more development opportunities. (Participating reporters: Hu Jiaqi, Kang Yi, Zhang Zhaoqing, Gao Jing, Peng Zhuo).