Key Points:
- China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology reported that 4.958 million 5G base stations had been installed by the end of March 2026.
- The country’s 5G mobile subscribers reached 1.254 billion, accounting for 68.3% of all mobile users nationwide.
- The digital industry recorded annual revenues of 39.6 trillion yuan ($5.48 trillion), representing an 8.8% year-on-year increase.
- Researchers at Purple Mountain Laboratories unveiled a pre-6G test network achieving microsecond-level latency and 99.9999% reliability.
China’s information and communication technology (ICT) sector has entered a resilient new phase. To mark World Telecommunication and Information Society Day 2026, the country has built the world’s largest and most technologically advanced network infrastructure, with over 4.9 million 5G base stations powering its multi-trillion-dollar digital economy. After years of rapid network expansion, the national focus is shifting from broad connectivity toward more resilient, intelligent infrastructure designed to support public services, industrial digitalization, and emergency response systems.
By the end of March 2026, China had built exactly 4.958 million 5G base stations, which includes 120,000 added during the first quarter of the year alone. These advanced sites now account for 38.2% of all mobile base stations nationwide. This massive network expansion supports a rapidly growing user base, with 5G mobile subscribers reaching 1.254 billion—representing a staggering 68.3% of all mobile users nationwide.
This massive digital footprint has created a powerful economic engine. In 2025, China’s digital industry recorded business revenue of 39.6 trillion yuan (approximately $5.48 trillion), showing an 8.8% year-on-year increase. The digital transition continues to accelerate, with the domestically developed HarmonyOS now powering nearly 1.2 billion devices, breaking the monopoly of Western software systems.
The data also reveals a rapid upgrade in home and industrial internet speeds. Gigabit broadband subscribers surged to 249 million, representing 35.8% of all fixed broadband users, while total fixed internet broadband subscribers climbed to 697 million. This vast network capacity has driven mobile data usage to new heights, with average monthly traffic climbing to a record 23.4GB per user in March. During the first quarter of 2026 alone, total mobile internet traffic reached 104.4 billion GB, representing a 19.1% year-on-year increase.
The industrial applications of this high-speed infrastructure are expanding even faster than consumer demand. Mobile Internet of Things (IoT) terminal connections reached 2.948 billion by the end of the quarter, reflecting deep digital adoption across smart manufacturing, automated transportation, and regional logistics. The roll-out of dedicated 5G networks inside factories has paved the way for artificial intelligence upgrades, enabling fleets of industrial robots to coordinate in real time.
This year, the focus of China’s ICT sector is shifting from broad connectivity toward building more resilient, intelligent infrastructure. Under the theme “Digital Lifelines: Strengthening Resilience in a Connected World,” the government has prioritized building space-air-ground-sea-integrated networks to ensure that, even during extreme climate events or terrestrial infrastructure failures, communication remains active. This digital expansion has also transformed rural communities, with gigabit optical networks now reaching 98% of administrative villages, and 5G coverage extending to over 95% of rural camps.
Looking toward the future, Chinese researchers are already laying the foundation for 6G, the sixth-generation mobile communication technology. At the 2026 Global 6G Technology and Industry Ecosystem Conference held in Nanjing, Purple Mountain Laboratories unveiled China’s first pre-6G integrated communication network infrastructure. The advanced test network includes 16 interconnected nodes built around a space-air-ground-sea architecture designed to support continuous, low-altitude coverage.
The results of the pre-6G tests demonstrate a quantum leap in network capabilities. The experimental system successfully supports continuous low-altitude coverage of up to 50 kilometers and maritime communication extending 27 kilometers offshore. More importantly, researchers reduced the air-interface latency to microsecond levels while achieving an incredible 99.9999% reliability. Experts note that 6G will be fundamentally different from 5G by being AI-native, embedding intelligence directly into every layer of the network.
As China’s digital infrastructure enters this highly advanced, resilient phase, the country is consolidating its position as a global leader in next-generation technology. By seamlessly combining massive 5G coverage with cutting-edge 6G research and robust industrial IoT networks, the government is ensuring its digital economy remains highly competitive, secure, and resilient against future global shocks.
