Huawei announced the advent of the 5.5G commercial era during a summit in Barcelona.

At the 5G Beyond Growth Summit at MWC Barcelona 2024 on February 25, Huawei's Li Peng, corporate senior vice president and president of ICT sales & service discussed how carriers can achieve business success in 5G and how 5.5G – a new generation network designed to provide 10 times the bandwidth than 5G for mobile users – will further unlock the potential of networks and create new growth opportunities.

"5G is on the right path to business success," said Li.

Li said since 2019, when 5G network started to be commercially used, over 1.5 billion users around the world are getting used to this wireless connection. He added currently, 20 percent of global mobile subscribers are using 5G. These users generate 30 percent of all mobile traffic and contribute to 40 percent of mobile service revenue.

And 2024 is for 5.5G. Li said carriers around the world should focus on high-quality networking, multi-dimensional monetization, emerging services, and generative AI to grasp new opportunities.

High-quality networks

Based on Huawei's analysis, Li said mobile users are willing to purchase experience upgrades for their mobile packages if their networks are of high enough quality.

Some carriers in the Middle East, for example, have already deployed massive MIMO (multiple input and multiple output) networks, and the optimal experience delivered by these networks have made 5G FWA (fixed wireless access) rollout a success. Currently, 5G FWA has connected nearly three million households, making it a powerful engine of revenue growth for carriers.

Emerging services and generative AI

Li explained new services like cloud phones, and glasses-free 3D are getting more and more attention from consumers. The new capabilities of 5.5G, including deterministic latency, precise positioning, and passive IoT, are expected to create even more opportunities for carriers in the B2B market, Li said.

According to IDC, global AI mobile phone shipments will reach 170 million in 2024. This will account for 15 percent of all smartphone shipments. Li believes next-generation AI phones will have more powerful storage, display, and imaging capabilities. The AIGC applications powered by these phones will generate hundreds of billions of GB data and create new opportunities for carriers.

Where 5.5G stands today

5.5G is at the critical halfway point to 6G. Huawei defined the characteristics of 5.5G for the first time in November 2020, and released the world's first full range of 5.5G solutions during the 2023 Global Mobile Broadband Forum in October last year. During MWC Barcelona 2024, Huawei announced the probability to commercialize 5.5G. It will pave the way for 6G, which is expected to arrive around 2030. So far over 20 international operators have verified the functions and capabilities of 5.5G, according to Huawei's official blog.