Introduction

Since 2019, China Telecom and China Unicom have deeply cultivated a new track for 5G co-construction, becoming the industry's first pairs to jointly build and share mobile networks. They have now engineered the world's largest, fastest shared 5G standalone (SA) network and put it into scaled commercial operations in a short period of time and with the least possible investment, blazing a new path leading global 5G development.

China Telecom and China Unicom have achieved breakthroughs in key technologies, standard evolution, operation mechanisms, management models, and industry collaboration for 5G network co-construction and sharing through joint innovation

To build the world's first large-scale 5G shared SA network, it means there would be no experience, standards, or successful cases to learn from. China Telecom and China Unicom overcame a number of networking and operation issues, including "doubled bandwidth and multi-band coexistence" and "4G-5G synergy in shared networks", to ensure user experience.

As the world's first "one physical network, two logical networks, multiple customized networks" 5G ultra-large-scale access network sharing network architecture, it creates a new model of joint construction and sharing of access network resources, independent operation of core networks, and differentiated business development.

They also innovated dynamic 4G-5G spectrum sharing that helps them provide services to their respective users in one network, and high-bandwidth Super Uplink with downlink and uplink decoupling that noticeably extends the coverage of the 3.5 GHz band. Furthermore, they initiated to develop the industry specifications for five major technologies, including FDD high bandwidth, multi-carrier aggregation, and high-power transmission.

Faced with the complex problem of network collaborative management, China Telecom and China Unicom reconstructed their processes and set up a joint team to promote end-to-end collaborated planning, construction, maintenance, and optimization. In order to solve the problem of fair use of resources and efficient scheduling between the two logical networks, they have developed a 5G co-construction and shared blockchain scheduling platform, which comprehensively improves the efficiency of co-construction and co-governance of shared networks.

In 2023, China Telecom and China Unicom were officially designated by the Global Systems for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA) to formulate the guide on 5G network co-construction and sharing, providing technological specifications for global 5G network sharing.

In addition to key technological innovations and industrial applications, 5G network sharing between China Telecom and China Unicom has produced significant social and economic benefits

Through 5G co-construction and sharing, China Telecom and China Unicom built the largest 5G SA shared network in the world has ever seen based on advanced technologies to guarantee wide coverage and premium experience with high investment effectiveness. Their joint practice created a bunch of technological and management achievements and produced significant social and economic results, providing a new industry benchmark for the world.

In terms of social benefits, the two parties have efficiently built high-quality 5G networks to provide scaled coverage in a short period of time, enabling a solid foundation for 5G to expand among public consumers and various industries. This contributes to disaster relief efforts and supporting smooth operations in key events. The 5G services of the two parties have developed rapidly, and the cumulative number of 5G users has exceeded 330 million.

In terms of economic benefits, China Telecom and China Unicom maximized their respective advantages in spectrum, equipment rooms, and site resources to substantially relieve the capital pressure arising from 5G construction and operations. Through 4G-5G network co-construction and sharing, they have saved more than CNY270 billion of CAPEX, in addition to CNY30 billion of OPEX annually, while cutting carbon emissions by over 10 million tons per year. This helps accelerate the development of new green information infrastructure.

To accelerate the speed of 5G construction, and reduce the pressure of 5G investment, co-construction and sharing is the best choice for high-quality development.

Based on network co-construction and sharing, China Telecom and China Unicom pulled together their separate strength in innovation to supplement each other on spectrum and other resources. This enabled them to build the industry's largest shared 5G SA network in a very short period of time with the least possible investment. This is the first time that two major operators have teamed up to build and share networks. With a C-Band 200 MHz bandwidth, the network can provide a 2.7 Gbps of downlink speed, which stands at the highest peak in commercial networks. This level of performance would not be achievable had they chosen to build networks separately. Therefore, this network model provides enterprises a new distinctive path towards collaborated business growth.

The new model of 5G co-construction and sharing is highly recognized globally and provided a good example to industry peers. The network sharing architecture won the "iF Industrial Product Design Award in 2021", and China Telecom and China Unicom won the 2021 winners of "Outstanding Contribution to the Asia Mobile Industry" from GSMA. Leading operators, including KDDI Japan, LG U+ South Korea, U Mobile Malaysia, consulted China Telecom and China Unicom on the technologies, management, and operations related to 5G co-construction and sharing.

Upholding the spirit of openness, collaboration, and shared success, China Telecom and China Unicom will continue to work with all partners on the technological research, model exploration, new business breakthrough, and ecosystem development of network co-construction and sharing, contributing to the thriving of the global digital economy.