China Communication Tower: From "Communication Pillar" to "Digital Lighthouse"

一、The birth and early development of Chinese communication towers 

In 1986, Qinhuangdao completed the commissioning of China's first mobile communication base station, a landmark event that ignited the flames of China's booming communication industry like a spark. Just one year later, in 1987, Guangzhou built its first wireless base station, officially declaring China's entry into the era of mobile communication.

At that time, China was in a critical period of reform and opening up, and the rapid development of the economy posed an urgent need for communication services. In Guangdong, the private economy has sprung up like mushrooms after rain, with frequent economic and trade exchanges, and high demands for the timeliness and reliability of public communication services. Guangzhou Mayor Ye Xuanping keenly recognized the importance of mobile communication and, in preparation for the 6th National Games, explicitly stated that the postal and telecommunications departments in Guangzhou must open mobile phone services before the 6th National Games.

The postal and telecommunications department quickly took action and, after careful site selection, determined Xidesheng, Tianhe Postal and Telecommunications Building, and Huangpu Development Zone in Yuexiu District, central Guangzhou as the construction sites for the first phase of base stations. The terrain here is high, which is very suitable for improving signal coverage. In terms of technology selection, after multiple research and discussions, the TACS standard from the UK was ultimately chosen, and Ericsson from Sweden was chosen as the equipment supplier. However, funding issues have become a major challenge in advancing the project. At that time, the national finances were tight, and the postal and telecommunications system sought investment from the central government but was unable to do so. Later, the Guangdong Provincial Administration of Posts and Telecommunications borrowed an interest free loan of 5 million US dollars from CSL Company in Hong Kong, China, and then pieced together funds from other banks to raise the initial contract funds.

During the project construction process, there were numerous difficulties. Due to the lack of experience in mobile communication construction in our country at that time, all work could only be explored and completed by postal and telecommunications employees themselves. They overcame numerous difficulties in the remote computer room, facing strict technical requirements from Ericsson experts, such as straightening and bending of feeders. After six months of hard work, we have finally completed the installation, debugging, jumper, and transmission communication of the main equipment for the first three base stations in Xidesheng, Tianhe Post and Telecommunications Building, and Huangpu Development Zone.

On November 18, 1987, Guangzhou was the first in the country to open the first analog cellular TACS network system exchange. That day, the first analog cellular mobile phone in the country was successfully connected through the Xidesheng base station. This system has 1 exchange station, 3 base stations, and can accommodate 1200 users. In the switch room, the staff were busy and nervous, witnessing this important moment in the history of Chinese communication. The base station is equipped with a 450MHz network with 8 channels and 8 carriers, with a high power output of 40 watts per channel. It can cover a range of over 20 kilometers and make calls as far away as Dinghushan and Nansha Port.

On November 20th, at the opening ceremony of the 6th National Games, Ye Xuanping, then the governor of Guangdong Province, connected his cellular mobile phone, which was vividly referred to as the "first wave of China". The first official mobile phone user in China, Xu Feng, was also born at this time. He completed the mobile phone account opening procedures in Guangzhou with the number 901088. At that time, he deposited a check for 20000 yuan and took away a simulated mobile phone produced by NEC Corporation in Japan, with an import price of 1350 US dollars and a selling price of 12000 yuan.

The completion of China's first base station was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, triggering a huge nationwide response. Various regions across the country have accelerated the pace of mobile communication network construction, drawing on the successful experience of Guangdong and combining their own regional characteristics and development needs to gradually open up mobile communication networks, sparking a wave of building mobile communication base stations.

二、The acceleration and expansion of communication tower construction

From 1986 to 2018, the construction of communication towers in China has experienced remarkable acceleration and scale expansion. Over the past thirty years, the number of communication base stations in China has increased from one to about 6.4 million, with coverage reaching a global leading level. The communication network technology is constantly upgrading, from 1G to 4G, and then to the 5G era, China has achieved a leading position in the global industry.

In 1986, the first mobile communication base station in China was successfully debugged in Qinhuangdao, marking the beginning of the development of China's communication industry. Subsequently, the construction of communication base stations gradually progressed, and by 2018, China had built approximately 6.4 million mobile communication base stations. This huge increase in quantity is due to the rapid development of China's economy and the urgent demand for communication services.

In terms of upgrading communication network technology, China has gone through a development process from 1G to 4G, constantly catching up with the international advanced level. In June 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued 5G commercial licenses, marking China's official entry into the 5G era. The construction of 5G is accelerating, and multiple cities across the country have successively opened their first 5G base stations. For example, on June 24, 2017, Guangdong Mobile and ZTE jointly built the country's first 5G base station in Guangzhou University Town; On November 16, 2018, Haikou, Hainan opened its first 5G base station.

Since the commercialization of 5G, China Tower has undertaken over 2.5 million 5G base station construction projects, accounting for more than 50% of the world's total, and over 95% of them have been achieved through shared existing station sites. This not only greatly reduces the cost of 5G network construction, but also shortens the construction period. At the same time, the construction of 5G base stations has also promoted the extension of communication networks to the central and western regions, as well as to rural areas, helping with network poverty alleviation and digital rural construction.

Across the country, multiple cities have also established schedules for the construction of 5G base stations. The deployment progress of 5G networks in first tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen is significantly faster. Taking Guangzhou as an example, the goal of completing no less than 20000 5G base stations in 2019 is the highest among all cities in terms of the number of 5G base stations. At present, 5G construction is booming in major cities, and it is basically required to achieve full coverage of 5G networks in key areas by next year or the year after.

With the acceleration of 5G base station construction, the scale of 5G users in China is also continuously expanding. By 2024, the number of 5G users in China will reach 927 million, accounting for 49.6% of the global 5G user base. The total number of 5G base stations is also constantly increasing. In the first half of 2024, the total number of 5G base stations reached 3.917 million, a net increase of 540000 from the end of 2023. The construction density of 5G base stations in China continues to increase. By the end of 2023, the construction density of 5G base stations in China will be about 24 per 10000 people.

From the perspective of regional competition, China's 5G base stations are mainly concentrated in the eastern region. Guangdong Province ranks first in the country in terms of the number of 5G base station constructions, with a total of over 350000 5G base stations completed as of the first half of 2024. The number of 5G base station constructions in provinces such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Henan has also exceeded 200000.

In terms of enterprise competition, the competition factions in China's 5G base station market mainly include traditional communication equipment manufacturers, small base station integrators, and telecommunications operators. Huawei, ZTE, Ericsson, Nokia, and Datang Mobile are core suppliers of 5G base stations for Chinese operators; Enterprises such as Jingxin Communication and CITIC Technology Mobile are leveraging their 5G base station industry chain layout technology and scale advantages to expand their small base station business; Telecom operators are the main contractors for 5G base stations, and currently the three major operators are the main force in construction.

The acceleration and expansion of communication tower construction in China not only provide solid communication support for the country's economic and social development, but also win a leading position in the global communication field. In the future, with the continuous expansion of 5G application scenarios, communication tower construction will continue to play an important role and contribute to the development of China's digital economy.

三、The Establishment and Co construction Sharing Model of China Tower

In 2014, China Tower Corporation Limited was established, which has a profound background and significant meaning. Against the backdrop of rapid development in China's telecommunications industry, China Tower has emerged to avoid redundant construction, improve resource efficiency, reduce construction costs, deepen state-owned enterprise reform, and promote the co construction and sharing of telecommunications infrastructure.

The establishment of China Tower has promoted the development of the communication industry's co construction and sharing model. On the one hand, it has strengthened planning and coordination. Fully sign cooperation agreements with various basic telecommunications operators to coordinate the planning of base station supporting facilities such as towers and computer rooms, as well as indoor distribution systems in key locations, in order to better connect communication facility construction with local planning and other public facility planning. On the other hand, it has improved construction efficiency. Establishing and improving mechanisms and processes for demand docking, engineering construction, operation and maintenance, regularly communicating and docking, negotiating to solve construction difficulties such as site selection and entry, has accelerated the construction speed of communication infrastructure. In addition, it also reduces costs. By sharing existing site locations, over 95% of 5G base station construction has been achieved, greatly reducing network construction costs and operating expenses.

Since its establishment, China Tower has achieved significant results. Since the commercialization of 5G, more than 2.5 million 5G base station construction projects have been undertaken, accounting for over 50% of the global total, helping China build the world's largest and technologically advanced 5G network. At the same time, it has promoted the extension of communication networks to the central and western regions and rural areas, narrowed the "digital divide" between the east and west, cities and rural areas, and assisted in poverty alleviation and digital rural construction through the internet. Significant progress has also been made in the coverage of high-speed rail and subway public networks, as well as indoor coverage in key locations, with a total mileage of over 39000 kilometers and a coverage area of over 8 billion square meters.

In addition, China Tower has accelerated its layout in the field of technology. Six science and technology innovation centers have been set up in Xiong'an, Nanjing, Tianjin, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou and Chengdu, focusing on more than 10 science and technology innovation fields and more than 80 key research tasks, continuously increasing the research and development of core technologies such as 5G-A, 6G, edge computing network, video AI algorithm, and energy Internet, and accelerating the formation of new quality productivity. By implementing the "one code to the end" approach, we can promote the transformation of supply chain and industrial chain management mechanisms, effectively reducing settlement cycles and alleviating financial pressure on suppliers.

The co construction and sharing model of China Tower has not only brought positive impact to the communication industry, but also provided reference for other industries. For example, in the Guizhou Key Construction Area of the Long March National Cultural Park, China Tower actively promotes the joint construction and sharing mechanism of station resources such as "multi pole integration" and "one pole multi use", providing support for the informationization construction of the Long March Cultural Park. At the same time, China Tower will vigorously promote the implementation of the development model of "communication tower" and "social tower" transformation, providing diversified comprehensive services for various industries in society and creating greater value for society.

四、New breakthroughs in communication towers in the 5G era

Since the commercialization of 5G, China Tower has made remarkable achievements in the construction of 5G base stations. China Tower has undertaken over 2.5 million 5G base station construction projects, accounting for more than 50% of the world's total, of which over 95% are achieved through shared existing sites. This construction method brings multiple advantages.

In terms of construction quantity, such a large scale of construction has laid a solid foundation for the rapid coverage of China's 5G network. Whether in urban or rural areas, people can enjoy high-speed and stable 5G network services.

The implementation of sharing existing site locations greatly improves resource utilization. China Tower has a huge inventory of station site resources, with a total of over 2.1 million. By combining the construction of 5G base stations with existing site resources, comprehensive sharing of towers, computer rooms, transmission, power, and cross industry sharing of social and communication resources has been achieved. For example, in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, some 5G base stations are renovated using abandoned chimneys, while others are renovated using billboards; At the intersection of Shubo Avenue and Financial City in Guiyang, the transformation of iron towers and cabinets, as well as the use of battery automatic adjustment, intelligent peak shaving, solar backup power and other means, have solved the problems of urban power transformation, power expansion and backup power, and also attracted the entry of IoT equipment from broadcasting and television. In addition, China Tower actively cooperates with power grid companies to achieve the sharing of power towers and communication towers. For example, Nanjing Tower cooperates with Nanjing Electric Power to transform power towers into communication towers, solving the problem of site selection for station construction, and reducing the cost of shared construction by more than 90%.

In terms of reducing construction costs, sharing existing sites greatly reduces the investment in redundant construction. The sharing rate of newly built iron towers has significantly increased from 14% to nearly 90%, which is equivalent to building 720000 fewer iron towers, saving about 130 billion yuan in investment and 37000 acres of land and other social resources. For example, in Guangdong, China Tower has solved technical problems through joint sharing innovation and mastered a comprehensive coverage plan that provides low-cost and excellent services by focusing on five aspects: sharing social resources, sharing municipal services, sharing transportation, sharing electricity, and cooperation with real estate enterprises. At Guangzhou Huacheng Square, China Tower fully utilizes social resources such as municipal light poles and video surveillance poles to achieve 100% sharing of social resources in micro station construction. Compared with traditional solutions, the coverage effect is better, while saving about 40% of investment. At the Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center, more than 50% of construction costs and approximately 20 million yuan in investment were saved by sharing tower, power supply, and trunking resources. In addition, China Tower has innovatively conducted systematic wind tunnel experiments on communication towers, which can reduce the cost of new towers by about 10% and increase the carrying capacity of millions of existing tower resources by about 30%.

In terms of shortening the construction period, sharing existing site locations enables faster progress in 5G base station construction. For example, in the Nansha Bridge, China Tower coordinated various resources and fully obtained social resources such as bridge streetlights, gantry frames, bridge piers and columns to build a station, and shared resources such as pipelines and electricity within the bridge. The construction period was only 90 days, and 5G was opened simultaneously with the bridge. At the Wufengshan Yangtze River Bridge in Jiangsu, China Tower directly installed 5G communication base stations on power towers, ensuring expected coverage while reducing station maintenance costs and shortening the construction period.

The construction of 5G base stations by China Tower not only promotes the extension of communication networks to the central and western regions and rural areas, but also assists in network poverty alleviation and digital rural construction. It also provides a solid network foundation for the development of China's digital economy. In the future, with the continuous development of 5G technology and the expansion of application scenarios, China Tower will continue to play an important role and make greater contributions to the development of China's communication industry.

五、The transition from communication tower to digital tower

The process of China Tower upgrading its "communication tower" to a "digital tower" is a vivid manifestation of its continuous innovation and business expansion in the digital age.

In June 2019, China Tower established Tower Intelligent Connection Technology Co., Ltd., embarking on a new journey from traditional communication towers to digital towers. Its business is mainly divided into three categories: "Tower Sharing", "Tower Video Connection", and "Tower Intelligent Computing".

Tower sharing relies on the resources of towers throughout the country to provide customers with socialized sharing services for supporting resources such as towers and computer rooms. For example, in the green belt of Linjiang Avenue in Guangzhou, environmental monitoring equipment loaded on communication towers and multifunctional smart poles with communication base stations, street lighting, and advertising functions are all concrete practices of tower sharing.

Tower video is a key measure to accelerate the upgrade of "communication towers" to "digital towers". Tower Video is based on the "high point video surveillance capability of China Tower" and aims to create a standardized product on a unified national platform. At present, it has been widely used in multiple industries such as forestry, water conservancy, environmental protection, land use, and agriculture. Cooperate with the National Seismological Bureau to build an earthquake intensity and early warning monitoring system; Cooperate with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration to carry out forest and grassland fire prevention monitoring; Cooperate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to build a fishery law enforcement system along the Yangtze River to serve the ten-year fishing ban on the river; Cooperate with the Ministry of Water Resources to carry out river and lake water conservancy monitoring, etc. At the local level, Zhejiang relies on the resource endowment of station data centers to carry out edge computing power networking and other work, serving the video supervision needs of thousands of industries; Anhui relies on the Iron Tower Vision Platform to integrate AI intelligent algorithms, combined with its own height point resource advantages, to achieve intelligent supervision of rural areas. In addition, Ningbo Iron Tower utilizes resources such as mid to high height iron towers throughout the city to build an integrated "multi sensory integration" perception system of "sky, earth, and people", transforming "communication towers" into "digital towers", and providing intelligent empowerment for 11 national and livelihood industries such as land and forestry. It has also created industry application products such as forest intelligent protection, straw burning ban, and fishery intelligent protection. High definition video surveillance cameras have also been installed at iron tower stations along the river banks throughout the city, equipping "thousand mile eyes" and "smart brains" for fishery prohibition and law enforcement. The Shihudang Town Urban Transportation Center leverages the advantage of high tower base stations and introduces AI intelligent algorithms to explore a new mode of intelligent perception inspection, enabling technology to better serve urban operation and social governance. The "video platform" of Changsha Iron Tower, with its high definition, wide coverage, and fast response, has become a powerful assistant in the construction of smart cities, playing an important role in land monitoring, forest fire prevention monitoring, straw burning prohibition, and other aspects.

As an emerging business, tower intelligent computing is combined with tower sharing and tower video connectivity to empower multiple industries. In the ICT exhibition area, Beijing Tower showcased the achievements of "Tower Sharing", "Tower Visual Connection", and "Tower Intelligent Computing", focusing on digital needs such as visual perception, data collection, and information processing. It showcased a nationally unified and open tower visual connection platform, as well as systems such as forest and grass fire prevention monitoring, atmospheric pollution grid supervision, earthquake intensity rapid reporting and early warning, and satellite navigation ground enhancement.

China Tower has established Tower Intelligent Connection Technology Co., Ltd. to carry out "Tower Sharing", "Tower Video Connection", and "Tower Intelligent Computing" businesses, successfully upgrading "Communication Tower" to "Digital Tower", providing strong support for the construction of the national governance system and the development of the digital economy.

六、The Responsibility of China's Communication Tower

China Tower has fully demonstrated its responsibility and dedication in terms of network coverage and major event support in remote areas.

In terms of network coverage in remote areas, China Tower actively assists in the construction of pilot projects for universal telecommunications services, greatly enhancing the depth and breadth of network coverage in remote areas. For example, the base station construction of the 2024 Telecom Universal Service Pilot Project in Abaga Banner has been successfully completed, bringing new opportunities for network coverage in remote pastoral and border areas throughout the banner. In 2024, Abaga Banner will strive to obtain 7 universal telecommunications service base stations, involving 5 Sumu towns and 7 Gacha, with a total investment of 5.05 million yuan. To ensure the smooth completion of the project, a special work leadership group has been established locally to actively communicate and coordinate with relevant units to solve the problem of tower foundation land occupation, supervise the construction enterprise to overcome difficulties, assign dedicated personnel to supervise and dispatch, and carefully formulate construction plans and schedules. Despite facing many difficulties during the construction process, such as the location of the Jiagacha base station on a mountaintop, difficulty in purchasing materials, transportation, water use, and construction, it took 46 days to finally complete the construction. After the completion of the project, the newly added signal coverage area will reach 549.5 square kilometers, covering 220 households of herdsmen, laying a solid foundation for the development of pastoral areas and rural revitalization.

The Aksai County Bureau of Industry and Information Technology actively carries out the 2024 pilot project for universal telecommunications services and approves the location of the proposed base station construction. The working group conducted on-site surveys in pastoral areas, mining areas, and important transportation routes, approved the construction locations of three base stations planned for this year, and made precise adjustments based on terrain characteristics and actual coverage needs, laying a solid foundation for the implementation of base station construction this year. The County Bureau of Industry and Information Technology will actively coordinate with telecommunications, mobile, China Unicom and other companies to steadily promote the implementation of pilot projects for universal telecommunications services, and contribute to the revitalization of rural and pastoral areas.

In terms of major event support, China Tower has successfully completed the communication and power supply guarantee tasks for the opening ceremony of the Chengdu Universiade. China Tower regards security work as a major political task, focusing on the fifteen "zero" work goals, launching the "eight most" mode, and making every effort. Build a coordinated security system for the whole country, establish a special working group for communication, network information security, service and power supply security, and create a comprehensive security system. Implement the "director system" for the opening and closing ceremonies and event venues, ensuring that responsibilities are assigned to individuals at each stage and location, and that the process is carried out in a closed-loop manner; Establish a vanguard team of Party members and a youth assault team to fully play an exemplary role. At the same time, we need to develop detailed contingency plans, ensure the implementation of specific tasks, and provide logistical support and care. For the first time, China Tower has achieved the dual guarantee task of communication and power supply for major events undertaken by communication enterprises, undertaking the important tasks of communication service guarantee for the Chengdu Universiade, main power supply guarantee for the opening and closing ceremonies, and emergency backup power guarantee for the competition venues. The construction of the 5G network for the Universiade has achieved 100% sharing of newly built base stations. The "isolated" microgrid established for the opening ceremony of the Universiade adopts a "three independent power supply+dual power exchange+UPS uninterruptible power supply" scheme, with an expected maximum daily power generation of 600000 kWh, equivalent to the daily electricity consumption of 100000 county and city residents. After completing the guarantee task, it will also be put into use for urban residents' electricity supply. In addition, China Tower has built a "Universiade Digital Security Center" system to achieve integrated proactive fault defense management, which is shared with relevant communication security departments to comprehensively enhance emergency response and disposal capabilities.

In terms of communication poverty alleviation, China Tower has built 958 communication base stations deep in the Bijie Mountains in 68 days, continuously promoting communication poverty alleviation and helping poverty alleviation. Bijie has achieved full coverage of 4G and fiber optic networks in administrative villages, as well as 4G networks in natural villages with more than 30 households, through the pilot project of universal telecommunications services. In the construction process, innovative construction plans are adopted to reduce overall costs, overcome difficulties such as material handling, and adopt a "two-day scheduling" approach to establish a work mechanism of progress sharing, quality management, and difficulty overcoming, ultimately completing the construction task. The telecommunications universal service project has opened up rural network channels, promoted the development of rural e-commerce and rural tourism, and facilitated the sharing of high-quality educational and medical resources.

In terms of high-speed rail network coverage, China Tower has helped the "world's first mountainous high-speed rail" Chengdu Guiyang high-speed rail achieve full coverage of high-speed mobile broadband network along the entire line. China Tower takes the lead in coordinating the "synchronous planning, synchronous design, synchronous construction, and synchronous acceptance" of three operators and the high-speed rail main project, and has built 544 macro base stations, 187 distributed base station systems in tunnels, and 293 apron stations, achieving full coverage of 2G/3G/4G signals along the entire line and fully reserving resources for 5G network coverage. China Tower actively plays a coordinating role, fully shares resources, and significantly reduces costs and increases efficiency; Innovate and implement policies tailored to local conditions to solve difficulties in website construction; Incorporate communication power demand into railway power design in advance.

In terms of supporting rural revitalization, Guyuan Iron Tower takes "serving digital Guyuan and assisting rural revitalization" as the starting point to solve the problem of network signal coverage in remote areas. Actively connect with the government, obtain policy support, and include universal service station sites in the "14th Five Year Plan" national spatial planning; Proactively visit customers, collaborate on cost reduction efforts, and establish an electric and general service team to tackle challenges; Strengthen project management, innovate construction plans, carefully develop project implementation plans, adopt low-cost tower types, and complete delivery ahead of schedule.