Chengdu was the starting point of the Southern Silk Road in ancient China, and this trade route vitalized a prosperous economy and bred an open culture in Sichuan today. These have driven the emergence of Sichuan's capital, Chengdu, which embraces a people-friendly atmosphere, abundant talent, and a unique civil culture. It also boosts innovative business models and industries. As an inland city in western China, Chengdu shows limitless potential in innovation and economic development. It not only presents a perfect example for the region, but also ranks high among the "new tier-1 cities" throughout China.

Technological innovation is always a key factor underpinning a city's competitiveness and breathes new life into it.

With each charming night accompanied by beautiful songs of buskers and fragrance of local cuisine, Chengdu's streets are getting increasingly smart thanks to fast-speed 5G networks – leading to an intelligent, connected, and beautiful future.

New transportation, new experiences, new Chengdu

In a pilot project, Chengdu has covered its Second Ring Road with quality 5G networks. On this road, China Telecom's staff and AI robot made a brief introduction of 5G as a bus labeled "First 5G Bus" slowly approached the Shuanglin North Branch Road BRT Station. The peak rate of 5G is 10 Gbit/s, which can support 16 channels of HD video at the same time. This also means that with 5G, a Blu-ray movie can be downloaded in just a few seconds.

This pilot project offers a different experience than 5G exhibitions or 5G trials that only cover parts of a street or a base station in other cities or regions. With 61 Standalone (SA) 5G base stations along the way, Chengdu's Second Ring Road is entirely covered by 5G networks.

This project not only brings 5G close to ordinary people, but also creates a sound environment for the development and testing of innovative applications. These are very important for facilitating 5G industrial agglomeration, generating new 5G industrial models and ecosystems, and propelling high-quality development in Chengdu.

5G + IPTV

China Telecom's 5G-based IPTV will also be integrated into the future urban public transportation system to provide public services and promote the city's image.

Even when the bus was moving, passengers using the Internet did not experience any dropped reception or slowness.

With 5G Wi-Fi, you can have fun online anywhere

This 5G bus also offers 5G Wi-Fi hotspots, and because of this, those onboard enjoyed a perfect gaming experience enabled by the cloud platform and 5G connections.

Supported by powerful 5G networks, all kinds of games can be moved onto the cloud. This way, users no longer need to worry about the specifications of their device like processing power or memory. They don't even need to download a game to play it. Within a few seconds, they can start playing a sophisticated or even 3D game with amazing graphics and visual effects shown in HD video and enjoy an unbelievably smooth and quality gaming experience.

China Telecom Sichuan and its partners are now actively cooperating with Chengdu's video game design and operation companies to drive the development of cloud games and the digital entertainment industry, which will infuse new energy to the region's economic growth.

Many users have signed up on China Telecom's WeChat account and took a ride in the 5G bus. They all spoke highly of this project.

5G Is Here

This is not China Telecom Sichuan's first try to bring 5G into everyday life. Last May, it opened the first 5G experience hall in Chengdu's Information Center of West China for the public. The hall displays 5G technologies and industry applications under the themes of virtual reality, industry, and future. Visitors will get to understand what radical changes 5G will bring to their lives.

China Telecom Sichuan has worked closely with many industry partners to build Chengdu into a city with super-large-scale all-optical networks (first nationwide), gigabit networks (first among all provincial capitals), and also the next generation of high-performance intelligent networks. Based on these solid foundations, they have set up Sichuan's first 5G base station, West China's first 5G experimental network based on international standards and multiple base stations, and China's first carrier-grade 5G open lab in Chengdu. Supported by these facilities, Chengdu is focused on constructing advanced infrastructure and developing robust digital industries, working to become a hub for 5G innovation.

On New Year's Eve 2018, Huawei successfully supported China Telecom Sichuan and Chengdu TV Station in live broadcasting an amazing New Year gala via 5G and satellite interactive technology.

The first show of the gala was performed by three singers in three different places –IFS on Chunxi Road, Eastern Memory Music Park, and the world's first 5G bus on the Second Ring Road. Thanks to 5G and satellite connections, they sang the song "Chengdu" perfectly in-sync. That was the first application of "5G + satellite interactive TV live broadcast" in China.

In the future, 5G technology will be more widely applied to push for a smart life and vibrant industries, create new application scenarios, and make cities more intelligent.