Hong Kong to aim for 5G service by 2020

The Communications Authority is preparing the groundwork for a 5G mobile network – expected to transmit up to 10 gigabytes of data per second – in the city by 2020.

This month the authorities will ask firms interested in the 5G market about the kinds of service they would provide, and how they would build their transmission network.
Officials said the high-speed bands will be allotted as per the market price but haven’t decided whether to do this through an auction or other methods.

For the wider 5G network meant for mobile devices, the Communications Authority plans to decide on the proposed bandwidth allocation in April. Officials also anticipate a lot more transmitters will be built for the 5G network and will be monitoring radiation levels to make sure they’re acceptable.

The authority has also introduced a licensing system for operating a service for automated data transmissions among machines. This technology, known as the Internet of Things, enables different devices to communicate between themselves through built-in sensors. Cutting-edge transport technologies like driver-less cars, remote monitoring and management of infrastructure like smart-homes are built on this.