Boao Forum for Asia: Revolutionary 5G technology just around the corner

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We head to Hainan province in the south of China, now, where the future of 5G technology is one of the issues being discussed the Boao Forum for Asia. CGTN's Cui Hui'ao has been finding out how 5G will affect our lives.

The technology of the 2020s is just about here, 5G. With wide bandwidths and low latency, the cellular mobile communication system can achieve 10 gigabytes of data per second. That means it will literally take just seconds to download a two-hour film with 5G. But the technology is so much more than high-speed internet.

CUI HUI'AO BOAO FORUM, HAINAN PROVINCE "What 5G is enabling, is hundreds of billions of devices to talk to each other. And that could change virtually every industry, from transportation in driverless cars to digital health care, to urban management with smart cities. Panelists say 5G is going to bring huge surprises to users."

MIAO WEI CHINESE MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND I.T. "We are working with the Ministry of Transport on digitalizing traffic lights, which can emit communication signals to vehicles, and generate data on driving conditions. That way traffic lights can be smartly controlled to ease congestion."

SUNG YUN-MO S. KOREAN MINISTER OF TRADE, INDUSTRY AND ENERGY "With 5G technology, smart factories can deploy cameras to check on the quality of products in real time. The data transmission will be automatic."

CHEN WENQI PRESIDENT & CEO, VIA TECHNOLOGIES, INC "Satellite communications could join in the technology of 5G to monitor, say, the trajectory of drones and prevent accidents."

As the world's largest mobile operator, China Mobile has started preparing for 5G since 2012, says Executive Vice President Li Huidi. The company's plans include building a world-leading 5G network.

LI HUIDI EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, CHINA MOBILE "We've launched a 5G plus plan. First, it's 5G plus 4G since we believe their coordination will be crucial in the future. Secondly, it's 5G plus new technologies such as AI, big data and cloud computing. And finally, 5G plus an ecosystem, which will provide better customer service."

The 5G future looks bright, but getting there won't be easy. Panelists say it will take intensive cooperation, both between industries and countries, in order to turn this future into reality.

YANG CHAOBIN PRESIDENT OF 5G PRODUCT LINE, HUAWEI "To meet different needs of industries, setting the standards of 5G requires the participation of all industries, not just by telecommunication experts."

Yang says 5G faces potential attacks by quantum computers. Over the last five years, more than 50 companies around the world have been discussing this safety challenge, which is just as important, if not more important, than big bandwidth and high frequency. Cui Hui'ao, CGTN, Boao, Hainan Province.