Cities set sights on gigabit capability

Cities set sights on gigabit capability

China expects to build more than 20 cities with gigabit capability by the end of this year as part of the country's efforts to complete construction of a dual-gigabit system featuring both wired and wireless gigabit broadband by 2023.

An official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that by the end of that year, there will be more than 100 cities nationwide with such capability, the Economic Daily reported on Sunday.

The gigabit connection is typically delivered over fiber optic lines and provides speeds of 1,000 megabits per second, which is equal to 1 gigabit per second.

According to the official, while the dual-gigabit networks are more suitable for indoor and complex environments, the 5G network offers high flexibility and convenience and is more user-friendly.

The coordinated development of the 5G and dual-gigabit networks will boost effective investment, promote information consumption, help cultivate the application markets for such sectors as manufacturing, traffic, healthcare and education, and speed up the digital transformation of traditional enterprises, the official said.

Poor regions urged to develop industries

China will further its efforts in supporting the development of local industries in regions that have been removed from the list of impoverished areas so as to consolidate the country's achievements in poverty alleviation, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), these areas should take advantage of their local resources, focus on market demands and development trends, select suitable industries and develop products with distinctive characteristics, said Liu Huanxin, vice-minister of agriculture and rural affairs, during a video conference on April 8.

According to Liu, China has established more than 300,000 industrial bases nationwide, and every county that has been lifted out of poverty has two or three leading industries that can help provide jobs.

Developing local industries has become an effective tool in the nation's poverty alleviation efforts as it can mobilize the largest number of people in a sustainable way, Liu said.

'Internet plus tourism' shows signs of success

China's total online tourism consumption has reached the trillion-yuan mark, according to a report on the country's development of "internet plus tourism" released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on April 7.

Introduced in a guideline in November, "internet plus tourism" encourages tourist destinations to make use of advanced technologies such as big data and cloud computing to make travel more intelligent so as to propel quality development of the tourism sector.

The ministry report said that the Internet Plus model, which has become a new engine for smart tourism, has created more opportunities for tourism management and smart marketing.

During China's weeklong Spring Festival holiday in February, travelers made online reservations for 60 percent of scenic spots across the nation, more than the 40 to 50 percent made in general, the report said.

Du Jiang, vice-minister of culture and tourism, said China will accelerate the development of smart tourism featuring digitalization, networking and smart technologies.

The nation will also endeavor to design mobile phone applications and interfaces for the older people and groups with special needs, Du said.