Shanghai Plans 5G Roll-Out for Marine Economy

Shanghai’s local government plans to provide oceanic coverage of 5G networks by 2024.

China Daily reports that Shanghai will build an integrated network connecting all land, sea, air and space internet infrastructure platforms. The development of navigation, wind power and offshore engineering will be coordinated so that they are connected.

5G technology will be used for marine supervision, science and technology, marine economy and intelligent shipping.

Qualcomm describes 5G as a new global wireless standard that enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices.

The advantages of 5G include more bandwidth, low latency and wide connectivity, and this is expected to enable more digital and intelligent operations for fishing, shipping, tourism, offshore photovoltaics and offshore wind power.

The action plan also calls for a 5G-based private network for the cruise industry. Adora Magic City, China's first domestically built large cruise ship is the world’s first 5G-based cruise ship. The vessel was built by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, with the 5G network created by China Telecom's Shanghai branch. The ship completed its first sea trial in July and will be home ported in Shanghai.

A 5G intelligent ship simulation laboratory for frontier scientific research has also been proposed. 5G is expected to aid in predictive maintenance and also the automation of ports.