US Will Get to 5G Before China, but Chinese Networks Will Be Huge, Says ABI

The U.S. should come in before China in the 5G race, but China ultimately will have the globe's largest 5G ecosystem, ABI Research said Tuesday. It said China's advantages (see 1808210046) are its vast population, with 160 cities with a population of more than a million and 15 cities with more than 10 million, plus Chinese government efforts to make 5G a cornerstone of its industrial revolution strategy. The researcher said China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom will start large-scale deployments in 2020. Ericsson forecasts 5G will reach more than 40 percent of the world's population by Dec. 31, 2024 (see 1811270028).