(Yicai) March 29 -- China Mobile, one of the country's three big mobile network operators, has unveiled a list of the first 100 Chinese cities to use fifth-generation advanced technology as part of plans to build the world's largest commercial 5G-A network.

China Mobile intends to expand 5G-A to more than 300 cities in the country by the end of the year, the Beijing-based firm announced yesterday.

5G-A, also known as 5.5G, is the intermediate stage between 5G and 6G. It offers faster transmission speeds, shorter delays, greater connection density, larger network capacity, and better network security than 5G.

China Mobile will also join hands with device makers and chip suppliers to promote the technological upgrade of products, said Deputy General Manager Gao Tongqing.

To promote the development of the 5G-A industrial ecosystem, China Mobile has allied with industrial partners on 5G-A innovation and naked-eye three-dimensional technology. They have released phone, tablet, car screen, notebook, and monitor products, with several research and development achievements in content application and tech platforms.

To hasten the popularity of 5G-A devices, China Mobile plans to help its supply chain partners in launching over 20 5G-A device models to reach more than 20 million users by the end of this year.

This is the first year for commercializing 5G-A technology, Li Qiang, GM of Mobile Planning and Construction at China Mobile, said at the 2024 Mobile World Congress last month. The company will work with its partners to build a 5G-A business model, striving to fully commercialize the technology by the end of 2026, he noted.

China had nearly 3.4 million 5G base stations as of the end of last year and 805 million 5G smartphone users, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev