BEIJING - China may grant official 5G licences, instead of the interim licenses previously planned, to telecom carriers this year and is likely to start commercial use of the superfast wireless technology nationwide in the near future, possibly as soon as October, according to people familiar with the matter.
"5G, industrial internet and the internet of vehicles are among the country's top development priorities in the telecommunications industry," Zhang Feng, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said on Friday during the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day.
Also on Friday, shortly after the US said it would ban Huawei from buying US technology without special approval, Huawei's chipmaking arm, HiSilicon, said it has long been prepared for the"extreme scenario" of the US blocking access to some components and technologies.