Oceanic coverage of 5 G networks and related applications should be significantly deepened by 2024 so that the city can grow into a powerhouse for smart ocean technologies, the local government said.
The above objectives were laid out in an action plan jointly released by the local administrative bodies on Friday.
The plan states that Shanghai will create an integrated network that links all land, sea, air and space internet infrastructure platforms. The advancement of navigation, wind power, and offshore engineering should be coordinated so that facilities are connected across these industries.
The application of 5G technologies should be promoted for more scenarios, such as marine control, science and technology, marine economy, and intelligent shipping. According to the action plan, risk evaluations should be made to test the security of 5G technologies in the marine environment.
With 5G's advantages, such as greater bandwidth, low latency and extensive connectivity, it should add more intelligent aspects to the industries of aquaculture and fishing, shipping, tourism, offshore photovoltaics and offshore wind power.
The action plan said that a 5G-based private network should be built for the cruise industry to promote the high-quality development of Shanghai's international cruise economy, which will be part of the efforts to deepen the integration between the marine and digital economies.
Adora Magic City, China's first domestically built cruise ship, was created by Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding Co, the world's first 5 G-based cruise ship, with the 5 G network created by China Telecom's Shanghai branch. The ship successfully completed its first sea trials and returned to its home port of Shanghai in late July.
The facility should also be built in Shanghai, where frontier scientific theories are nurtured and basic research is conducted. Marine environmental perception, sea-powered systems, marine green resources and smart ships should be the main research areas, said the recently released action plan, which has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
With 5G penetration, industrial data acquisition and transmission, along with predictive maintenance, should be more widely utilized in shipbuilding and container manufacturing. The automation of freight and port operations should be accelerated by incorporating 5G, artificial intelligence and big data, the plan said.
The integrated application of 5 G technologies is an important engine to drive the city's digitalization and smart transformation, said Xie Qunwei, director of the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration. More pilot programs and projects using 5 G technologies in the shipping industry should be launched so that successful results can be replicated more rapidly and promoted more widely, said Wang Tianguang, head of the Shanghai Communications Administration.
Shanghai has launched 5G applications in the marine sector. The action plan rolled out in March 2022 to promote 5 G applications in smart manufacturing, steel and ports is a good start, said Qin Ling, deputy director of the Lingang communication management office under the Shanghai Communications Administration.
By May, data provided by the Shanghai Municipal Government show that the city was able to build a total ofG base stations, with an average annual growth rate of more than 65 percent. In Shanghai, there are more than 12 base stations set up per square kilometre, the highest in China's coverage density.