China sees 870,000 5G mobile subscribers

China has already secured 870,000 5G mobile subscribers in just 20 days after the country kicked off commercialization of the superfast mobile technology, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Thursday.

Miao Wei, minister of industry and information technology, said more than 113,000 5G base stations have entered into service and the development momentum is good.

According to him, by the end of this year, more than 130,000 5G base stations in total will enter into service to support the network, marking one of the world's largest 5G deployments.

In October, China shipped 2.49 million 5G smartphones, marking a 400 percent surge compared with the previous month, according to a report by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

Miao said the world is at the tipping point for large-scale 5G network construction and international cooperation remains the key to accelerating such a process.

"No country should ban a company in its 5G network rollout by using the unproved allegations of cybersecurity risks, "Miao said, adding it was wrong to use the excuses of cyberrisks to practice trade protectionism.

According to him, China highly values cybersecurity and deeply understands that ensuring cyber-security is the prerequisite for better growth of 5G.

"China always sticks to equal and fair principles when purchasing 5G telecom equipment. We never preset the market shares for domestic and foreign enterprises," Miao said.

As the top industry regulator, the ministry will oversee Chinese telecom carriers' bidding processes and encourage competitions under the principles of being transparent, equal and fair, Miao added.

"Delivering good 5G products and services is the only way to increase the market share in China," Miao said.