(Yicai Global) Oct. 31 -- Shanghai has built more than 14,000 fifth-generation wireless communication base stations and will have 5G coverage in its most important downtown and suburban areas by the end of this year, according to The Paper.

The city has begun operations at 13,800 of the stations and has a further 12,500 indoor base stations, The Paper cited Zhang Jianmin, deputy director of the Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, as saying today at a ceremony celebrating the launch of commercial 5G in Shanghai.

5G is a core technology for information infrastructure and will promote industrial transformation and economic development, Zhang added, saying Shanghai considers the technology extremely important.

Shanghai had planned to have 10,000 5G base stations up and running and full coverage in these areas by the end of this year, according to a development plan published Sept. 19, which also said the city would begin building application demonstration zones and form 10 key usable applications.

Its goal for 2020 is to have 20,000 5G base stations and full city coverage with investment surpassing CNY20 billion (USD2.8 billion) and 100 applications spanning 20 vertical industries. By 2021, it hopes to have 30,000 stations, total investment of over CNY300 billion and 100 innovative companies developing 5G applications in a market worth over CNY100 billion.

Editor: James Boynton