Hainan to invest 12b yuan to improve communication networks

Hainan will invest 12 billion yuan to improve its information infrastructure facilities in the next three years to support its free trade zone construction, provincial authorities said on Wednesday at a press conference in Haikou, the provincial capital.

A three-year (2018-2020) action plan was released at the meeting, targeting to set up an intelligentized network with high speed and universal coverage. Implementation of the plan is expected to enhance Hainan's information network facilities to a leading level in China.

The action plan will also promote construction of 5G network systems to make sure the 5G services cover major parts of the province, including urban areas, major tourist spots, traffic hubs and main industrial parks by 2020.

Hainan will accelerate 5G network overall application, especially in commercial services. Cities of Haikou and Qionghai, the seat of the Boao Forum for Asia, will develop pilot projects for 5G network application.

Construction of submarine international communication cable and landing points on the island is also planned, with the aim to further improve the international communications infrastructure to support the development of export-oriented data services and the establishment of Hainan International Offshore Innovation and Entrepreneurship Demonstration Zone, according to the action plan.

Notable efforts had been put in the sector, with 13 billion yuan poured to expand the communication network coverage from 2015 to 2017, raising the national network coverage ranking of Hainan island from 30th in 2015 to 11 last year across the country.

Fiber optic networks cover 73.3 percent of the villages in Hainan and the 4G network coverage on the island has reached 86.2 percent. And the target is to obtain complete coverage by 2019, said Wang Jing, director of Hainan Industry and Information department, on Wednesday.