China Activates World’s First 10G Network

What Happened?

China recently launched the world’s first 10G in Xiong’an City, Hebei Province, marking a significant step in the development of global digital infrastructure. The 10G network resulted from a partnership between Huawei and Unicom, a government-backed telecommunications provider in China. 

According to Chinese officials, the network can reach download speeds of up to 9,834 Mbps and upload speeds of 1,008 Mbps, with an extremely low latency of just 3 milliseconds. According to Unicom and Huawei, the system is based on 50G Passive Optical Network (PON) technology, which dramatically boosts data transmission across existing fiber-optic cables.

Why it Matters

The new 10G network is designed to consistently handle more advanced technologies like virtual and augmented realities, smart home sensors, cloud computing, and ultra-high-definition video streaming. China views the new 10G network as a prototype which if successful could be used as a national model.

In addition to communications and entertainment, several other sectors of China’s economy could benefit from ultra-fast internet connectivity. Telemedicine, remote education, precision agriculture, industrial automation and artificial intelligence are just a few. China and the United States are in a race to become the world’s dominant artificial intelligence power, and the new 10G network is part of the infrastructure China believes will enable it to win that contest.

Noticeably absent from the launch and the accompanying announcement was the cost. How much the new 10G service will cost users remains unknown, but previously faster connection speeds has meant increased costs for network users. 

The new 10G is part of China’s National Digital Strategy, which is often referred to simply as Digital China. According to David Dorman, ‘For Digital China, technology is a means, not an end. The end it seeks is ideological: the historical validation of Marxist theory modernized for the digital age.’

In Beijing, the Chinese Communist Party has touted Digital China as the way to build the world’s first ‘Smart Society.’ One it believes will demonstrate the superiority of the Chinese system over the way western societies are organized.

China views access to and control over information as the key to national growth, prosperity, and power. The Chinese Communist Party has repeatedly said through various public statements and publications ‘whoever occupies the high ground of informatization will be able to seize the first opportunity, win the advantage, win security, and win the future.’

How it Affects You

If Digital China is successful it could serve as a model for other countries around the world to adopt, but left out of the public facing discussions is who exercises control over such a system. As computer scientist, Dr. Kentaro Toyama, put it ‘technology can be used for good or evil, but the real question is, what is the agenda of the human beings who have power over that technology?’ 

By providing a template for a digital society, China believes it would then be in a position to dominate that system on a global scale.