5G devices set to mature soon

Nation playing important role in finalizing global standards

China is likely to issue 5G licenses to telecom carriers in the second half of next year at the earliest as the nation scrambles to commercialize next-generation mobile communication technology, Wang Zhiqin, an expert with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told China Daily on Wednesday.

"5G devices will be mature for commercial applications in China in 2019. We will be among the first batch of countries to issue 5G licenses in the world, most likely between the second half of 2019 and the first half of 2020," said Wang, vice-president of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a government think tank affiliated with the ministry.