Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with nine departments, released the Notice on 5G Application "Sail" Action Plan (2021-2023) (hereinafter referred to as the Action Plan), which sparked heated discussions in this field.

Since the 5G R16 standard has been frozen, 5G application has elevated from "able to use" to "easy to use". As the core application scenario of 5G, Industrial Internet has become the key to the landing of fusion applications in the 5G industry.

Not long ago, at the first half of 2021 industrial and information technology development press conference held by the State Council Information Office, the latest situation of the integrated application of 5G and Industrial Internet was released. China has completed nearly 1,600 "5G plus Industrial Internet" projects and application scenarios are expanding, covering more than 20 key industries and fields of the national economy. They have played an important role in transforming and upgrading the real economy to go digital, online, and smart.

Although the integration of 5G and Industrial Internet has made notable progress in empowering industries and the expansion of application scenarios. However, we must note that there are still many challenges hindering the implementation of 5G Industrial Internet applications. For example, the connectivity capability of industrial enterprises, the commercial model of 5G, 5G standards, industrial application terminal modules, cost, and other issues. They are all practical problems affecting the landing of the integrated application of 5G and industrial Internet.

The Action Plan, as a guiding document for the development of 5G applications in China in the next three years, has identified key directions and pathway for the integrated development of "5G plus Industrial Internet". The implementation of 5G-enabled industries requires the collective efforts of the entire industrial chain in order to accelerate the digital transformation of manufacturing and promote high-quality development of the real economy.

Recently, Industrial Internet newsroom and Communications Weekly full-media section interviewed industrial experts and key companies on the industrial chain to find out how experts view the Action Plan and how companies plan to facilitate the implementation of 5G plus Industrial Internet innovation.

Expert Views

Yang Chunli, vice director at China Software Testing Center, believes that the Action Plan reflects the new landscape, new requirements and new missions brought by the digital transformation of China's economy and society, follows the law of development for 5G application, and has identified key directions and pathway of the development approach of "5G plus Industrial Internet".

Yang pointed out three areas of focus for the "5G plus Industrial Internet" approach.

First, in-dept integration between 5G modules and industrial terminals. Huawei, Changhong, and some other companies have already launched several 5G industrial modules. However, key products for 5G industrial application remain limited in scope and are still at the initial stage of large-scale commercial application. Accelerating the in-depth integration between 5G modules and industrial terminals can help promote the targeted R&D of modules for vertical industrial application scenarios and rapidly enhance the compatibility of modules to break the bottleneck faced by 5G industrial modules. In addition, it can also help build an internet deployment model which combines the network of information technology and the network of production control and create a new ecosystem where IT (information technology), CT (communications technology), and OT (operation technology) are closely integrated so as to achieve connectivity among all industrial elements.

Second, promote the application of "5G plus Industrial Internet" in core stages of manufacturing. Two years into the commercial application of 5G, the scope of "5G plus Industrial Internet" has expanded rapidly into industries such as automobiles, communications and electronic manufacturing, and machinery. However, few existing application scenarios involve core stages of manufacturing. As such, efforts are urgently needed to closely align "5G plus Industrial Internet" with the characteristics, knowledge and experience of manufacturing in vertical sectors, and move faster to develop and promote mature application models in typical scenarios such as quality test, remote application and maintenance, multi-equipment coordination, and human-machine interaction.

Third, move faster to build an ecosystem for "5G plus Industrial Internet" application. Region-based application is an important way to play out "first mover advantage", encourage pilot trials, and build ecosystems. It is also a vital approach to strengthen the coordination among different levels of governments. All regions should be encouraged to set up pilot zones for "5G plus Industrial Internet" application to explore the application of 5G in areas such as raw materials, equipment, consumer goods, and electronics, enhance both the depth and breadth of "5G plus Industrial Internet" application in key areas, and to set the sail for "5G plus Industrial Internet" application.

Wang Yunhou, expert consultant at CCID Group, said that a large chunk of "5G plus Industrial Internet" application is still in the trial phase and is mostly undertaken by carriers. Therefore, the major task during the 14^th Five Year Plan is to encourage local governments and industrial users to participate in 5G application.

The Action Plan has further identified application scenarios and development path for "5G plus Industrial Internet". It will drive progress in 5G infrastructure and key technological breakthrough. 5G application in key industries and key sectors will also speed up.

Voices from Industrial Internet Companies

COSMOPlat: the three-year goals on 5G application in the Action Plan echoes the company's belief that application is the key to the development of 5G. As the main field of 5G application, Industrial Internet will generate more application scenarios will be more targeted at the needs of industries, and empower manufacturing in cost reduction, efficiency enhancement, quality improvement, and green development in order to "set the sail" of 5G development.

As a national-level cross-industry and cross-sector platform, COSMOPlat will continue to play a leading role to create an ecosystem by connecting terminal manufactures, integrators, and business users, build a bridge between past experience and innovative development, achieve cooperation and sharing between the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, and offer fine models for 5G-and Industrial Internet-enabled transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing.

Going forward, COSMOPlat will gradually enhance both the depth and breadth of 5G application. As 5G and other technologies achieve more in-depth application, COSMOPlat's core mission will be to generate knowledge and value from data, boost efficiency via ecosystems, and reshape the model of business cooperation.

HUMI.com: HUMI H-IIP platform, as a national-level cross-industry and cross-sector platform and an important driver for the application of 5G in industries, has made further exploration and remarkable progress in "5G plus Industrial Internet". Its self-developed Moscryer 5G Edge Computer has entered the market and gained wide recognition. Next, HUMI.com will seize the window of opportunity, put emphasis on the innovative application of 5G as well as "5G plus Industrial Internet" solutions, and create typical application scenarios. It will work hard to promote 5G application, expand the scope of 5G application, and turn the "first mover advantage" into long-term advantage so as to give full play to 5G's role of enabling the economy and society and enable the sailing of 5G application.

NeuCloud: since Day One, the company had been at the forefront of technology and has been a solid pillar providing technological services to the implementation of national strategies such as Intelligent Manufacturing and Integrating IT into Industrialization. Going forward, NeuCloud will follow the guidance of the Action Plan. With NeuSeer Industrial Internet Platform as the core, it will further explore industrial demands and 5G application scenarios, strengthen its cooperation and connection with industries, academic institutions, and research institutes, and carry out cooperation and innovation of "5G plus Industrial Internet". It will explore more possibilities of various 5G plus application scenarios such as Industrial Internet, industrial big data, and intelligent data application, and empower the IT application, intelligent development, and digitization of manufacturing, so as to contribute to the sustainable high-quality development of 5G application.

Taiji Inc.: as a digital service provider, the company has been pursuing the mission of promoting the all-round, coordinated development of 5G and enabling all industries with 5G. After the Action Plan was issued, Taiji will continue to promote "5G plus Industrial Internet" application by integrating Industrial Internet and advanced computing with the business development and operation of modern industries such as energy and manufacturing. By empowering the digitalization of industries with 5G, it will help leading industrial enterprises become a model of "5G plus Industrial Internet".

Guided by the Research Institute of China Electronics Technology Group (CETG), Taiji has established a system of main business operations covering smart industrial application and data services, cloud services, integrated system services, and information infrastructure services. In its digitalization business, it has prioritized serving Industrial Internet companies in sectors such as smart energy and electronic manufacturing. It has launched the TECO Industrial Internet Platform and created scenarios including smart mines, safe production, smart patrol inspection, equipment diagnosis, and coordinated electronic manufacturing. It is assisting industrial enterprises to go digital through digitalized production monitoring, smart security management and control, and intelligent operation management.

Intel: to empower 5G based Industrial Internet innovation, Intel launched a number of chip products, software solutions and referential solutions to promote the integration of IT and OP. These solutions and Industrial PaaS provided by open-source software can help software developers and system integrators speed up the development and deployment of Industrial Internet application. Given the limitation of traditional Ethernet technology, 5G and Time-Sensitive Network technology (TSN) will become the future direction of Industrial Internet. Intel started early in deploying TSN technology, and its latest Intel Atom and Intel Core processors all support TSN.

After the Action Plan was released, Intel will provide continued technological support to 5G-based Industrial Internet with its software and hardware technologies. For products and technology, Intel is committed to offering full stack solutions for every dimension of digital systems and establish an integrated and universal technology platform to integrate and optimize various modules.