(Yicai Global) Feb. 23 -- China’s mobile network operators will spend nearly USD210 billion between 2020 and 2025 to build wireless networks, 90 percent of which, or USD189 billion, will be on fifth-generation connections, a global industry trade body said today.

China’s 5G network will make up 47 percent of the country’s total connections by 2025, with 4G accounting for the rest, the GSM Association said at the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai.

Chinese consumers are very eager to try out 5G. Some 62 percent were planning to upgrade to 5G last year, more than in other parts of the world, the GSMA said. Over half of China’s smartphone sales last year were 5G, amounting to 163 million units.

The growth in 5G services is boosting the revenue of operators. By 2025, carriers should achieve a compound annual growth rate of 2 percent, reversing the drop in earnings they experienced between 2014 and 2019, the agency said.

China has built the world’s largest 5G network, Liu Liehong, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said last December. The country has 718,000 5G base stations, 330,000 of which are shared.

The country is planning on constructing a further 600,000 stations this year, MIIT Minister Xiao Yaqing said at the National Industry and Information Technology Work Conference that month.

China will promote 5G network construction, accelerate 5G coverage in major cities and promote joint construction and sharing, he added.

Editor: Kim Taylor