Growth of 9.3%! Highlights of the development of the information and communication industry in the first half of the year
On the afternoon of July 18, the State Council Information Office held a press conference. Xie Shaofeng, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Tao Qing, spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and director of the Operation Monitoring and Coordination Bureau, and Xie Cun, director of the Information and Communication Development Department, introduced the development of industry and information technology in the first half of 2025 and answered questions from reporters.
It is reported that in the first half of the year, the total volume of my country's telecommunications business increased by 9.3% year-on-year, and the cumulative telecommunications business revenue reached 905.5 billion yuan. The information and communication industry has maintained a stable operation trend overall. Xie Cun analyzed the development characteristics of my country's information and communication industry in the first half of the year from the perspectives of network construction, application development, public service, and industry opening.
First, the network support is stronger
As of the end of June, the total number of 5G base stations in my country reached 4.55 million, and the number of 5G mobile phone users reached 1.118 billion, with a user penetration rate of over 79%. The number of ports with gigabit network service capabilities reached 30.22 million, and the number of gigabit broadband users reached 226 million. The first batch of 168 communities, factories and parks have been successfully deployed in the pilot of 10G optical networks. As of the end of March, my country had 10.43 million standard computing racks in use, and the scale of intelligent computing power reached 748 EFLOPS, providing an intelligent base for massive data computing.
Second, more in-depth integrated applications
Since the beginning of this year, emerging applications such as 5G new calls, live short videos, and cloud games have flourished, and large model apps and AI smart terminals have developed in coordination. Digital consumer demand continues to be released, and mobile users' Internet traffic has achieved double-digit growth for 6 consecutive months. 5G integrated applications are integrated into 86 of the 97 major categories of the national economy. More than 18,500 "5G+Industrial Internet" projects have been built.
Third, inclusive services are more convenient
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the implementation of universal telecommunications services. In 10 years, my country has achieved "broadband in every village and 5G in every township", and the proportion of administrative villages with 5G has exceeded 90%. Focusing on the concerns and expectations of the people, we have launched "ten practical things" for warm information and communication services. For example, more than 3,000 websites and apps suitable for the elderly have been promoted to complete aging-friendly and barrier-free transformation, and more than 400,000 "Silver Age Digital Classrooms" have been opened, so that the elderly group will not fall behind in the information age and have a more relaxed digital life. For another example, the proportion of online handling of telecommunications services has exceeded 91%, and 45,000 business halls across the country provide remote handling, covering all districts and counties, making services more convenient and reducing the number of errands for the people.
Fourth, more pragmatic and prudent opening up to the outside world
Organize and implement the pilot program of expanding the opening up of value-added telecommunications services in an orderly manner, organize the first batch of pilot areas to issue guidelines for expanding opening up to the outside world, strengthen communication and docking with foreign-funded enterprises, and currently 40 foreign-funded enterprises have obtained pilot approval. The total number of foreign-invested telecommunications enterprises exceeds 2,600, an increase of 27% over the same period last year, which fully reflects the continued strengthening of the attractiveness of China's telecommunications market to foreign capital.
Xie Cun said that in the next step, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will continue to coordinate the promotion of "construction, use, and research" to further promote the high-quality development of the information and communication industry. We will do a good job in network construction and upgrading, continue to improve the depth and breadth of 5G and Gigabit optical network coverage, accelerate the deployment of 5G-A and 10G optical network pilots, deepen the "signal upgrade" special action, and accelerate the construction of a national integrated computing network system. We will do a good job in application implementation and promotion, implement the 5G large-scale application "Sailing" action upgrade plan, the "5G+Industrial Internet" 512 project upgrade version and the "Connect" three-year action plan, and promote the collaborative empowerment of the industrial Internet and artificial intelligence. We will do a good job in technological innovation and research, accelerate the enrichment of the 5G-A product system, promote the deployment of high-quality networks, accelerate the development of 6G technology, and proactively plan and cultivate an application industry ecosystem for 6G. We will do a good job in the research and implementation of opening-up policies, orderly promote the opening-up of value-added telecommunications services, strengthen policy publicity and implementation, optimize service management, and support more foreign-funded enterprises to participate in pilot projects.
Source of this article: People's Post and Telecommunications