To thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the second and third plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee, and to carry out the relevant deployments of the “Overall Layout Plan for Digital China Construction,” the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently issued the “Notice on Promoting the Development of Mobile IoT ‘Everything Connected'” (hereinafter referred to as the “Notice”). The aim is to enhance the supply level of the mobile IoT industry, innovation empowerment capabilities, and overall industry value, accelerating the transition of mobile IoT from “everything interconnected” to “everything connected intelligently.”

Mobile IoT is a new type of information infrastructure that uses mobile communication technology and networks as carriers, achieving ubiquitous intelligent connections among people, machines, and things through multi-network collaboration. It is an important driving force for the digital transformation of the economy and society. As of the end of July 2024, the number of mobile IoT terminal users in China reached 2.547 billion, accounting for 59% of the total mobile network terminal connections, demonstrating significant achievements in the development of mobile IoT.

The “Notice” is based on the development rhythm of the mobile IoT industry and the current application status of mobile IoT across various sectors, clearly defining the development goals for mobile IoT. By 2027, a comprehensive ecological system for mobile IoT that is secure, reliable, and characterized by high and low combinations of 4G (including LTE-Cat1, which is 4G network of rate category 1) and 5G (including NB-IoT, narrowband IoT; RedCap, lightweight) will be further improved. The “Notice” outlines four main tasks: first, to solidify the foundation of the IoT network, mainly including strengthening network planning and construction, and enhancing network intelligent connection capabilities; second, to enhance industrial innovation capabilities, mainly including promoting the construction of standard systems and increasing industrial supply capabilities; third, to deepen intelligent integrated applications, mainly including promoting the digital transformation of industries, facilitating intelligent social governance, and assisting in the intelligentization of people’s lives; fourth, to create a favorable development environment, mainly including optimizing value assessment methods, improving industry service levels, and perfecting security protection mechanisms.

In the next steps, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will promote the strengthening of element guarantees, conduct monitoring and evaluation, and facilitate communication and collaboration among various industry parties to effectively implement the tasks outlined in the “Notice,” accelerate the integration of mobile IoT with key industries, and promote high-quality development of mobile IoT, effectively assisting the digital transformation of industries and new industrialization.

Notice on Promoting the Development of Mobile IoT ‘Everything Connected’

MIIT Communication〔2024〕52

To the communication management bureaus of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, the industrial and information technology authorities of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, China Telecom Group Co., Ltd., China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd., China United Network Communications Group Co., Ltd., China Broadcasting Network Group Co., Ltd., China Tower Corporation Limited, China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, and all relevant enterprises:

Mobile IoT is a new type of information infrastructure that uses mobile communication technology and networks as carriers, achieving ubiquitous intelligent connections among people, machines, and things through multi-network collaboration. To thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the second and third plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee, and to carry out the relevant deployments of the “Overall Layout Plan for Digital China Construction,” further deepen the integration of mobile IoT with technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data, enhance the supply level of the mobile IoT industry, innovation empowerment capabilities, and overall industry value, accelerate the transition of mobile IoT from “everything interconnected” to “everything connected intelligently,” and assist in the digital transformation of industries and new industrialization, the following matters are hereby notified.

1. Development Goals

By 2027, a comprehensive ecological system for mobile IoT that is secure, reliable, and characterized by high and low combinations of 4G (including LTE-Cat1, which is 4G network of rate category 1) and 5G (including NB-IoT, narrowband IoT; RedCap, lightweight) will be further improved. The 5G NB-IoT network will achieve deep coverage in key scenarios. The 5G RedCap will achieve nationwide coverage in cities at the county level and above, and extend coverage to key towns and rural areas. The number of mobile IoT terminal connections is expected to exceed 3.6 billion, with 4G/5G IoT terminal connections accounting for 95%. Support the construction of more than five mobile IoT industrial clusters nationwide and create more than ten mobile IoT industrial demonstration bases. Cultivate a number of application areas with hundreds of millions of connections and create a number of application areas with tens of millions of connections.

2. Solidifying the Foundation of the IoT Network

(1) Strengthening Network Planning and Construction. Basic telecom enterprises should carry out annual rolling planning for mobile IoT, appropriately building the mobile IoT network in advance based on demand. Improve the deep coverage level of 5G NB-IoT in key areas such as municipal, home, education, and agriculture as needed. Further increase the deployment of 5G RedCap, accelerate the opening of new 5G base stations in sync with 5G RedCap, and support the upgrade of existing 5G base stations to 5G RedCap, promoting applications in industry virtual private networks. Strengthen network monitoring and optimization to enhance network quality based on mobile IoT user needs.

(2) Enhancing Network Intelligent Connection Capabilities. Basic telecom enterprises should accelerate the exploration of artificial intelligence technology in the application deployment of mobile IoT networks, promoting the realization of endogenous intelligence in network connection, resource management, and operation maintenance, thereby enhancing the level of network intelligence. Strengthen adaptation to scenarios such as urban intelligent connection, low-altitude intelligent connection, and agricultural intelligent connection to better meet the business needs of high, medium, and low-speed, wide-area coverage, and uplink enhancement.

3. Enhancing Industrial Innovation Capabilities

(3) Promoting the Construction of Standard Systems. Industry standard organizations and basic telecom enterprises should strengthen the formulation of terminal standards, accelerate the unification of platform object model standards, enhance intelligent connection capabilities, and reduce the complexity of adaptation in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain. Encourage basic telecom enterprises to jointly formulate standards with leading enterprises in vertical industries to promote deep integration of mobile IoT across industries. Support all parties in the industry to participate in the formulation of international standards for 5G-Advanced (5G evolution), and conduct research, standard formulation, and testing verification for technologies such as passive IoT, integrated sensing, 5G TSN (Time-Sensitive Networking), high-precision positioning, and satellite IoT. Formulate no less than 30 mobile IoT standards.

(4) Enhancing Industrial Supply Capabilities. Support basic telecom enterprises and specialized mobile IoT companies to leverage industrial advantages, cultivate leading enterprises that master key resources and core capabilities, and form a resilient industrial pattern of collaboration among large, medium, and small enterprises, as well as upstream and downstream enterprises. Encourage chip and module enterprises to accelerate technological innovation and industrialization. Basic telecom enterprises should strengthen the construction of IoT platforms, leverage the advantages of massive data, conduct innovative applications of artificial intelligence large models, and develop intelligent IoT products. Encourage basic telecom enterprises and internet companies to reasonably open IoT platform capabilities, lower development thresholds, and promote data collection and effective utilization. Support localities in building mobile IoT industrial clusters and creating public service platforms for the development of the mobile IoT industry.

4. Deepening Intelligent Integrated Applications

(5) Promoting Digital Transformation of Industries. Basic telecom enterprises should strengthen collaboration with industries such as manufacturing, transportation, and energy, promoting the integration of mobile IoT in fields such as industrial manufacturing, transportation logistics, and smart grids to enhance production efficiency and management levels. In the field of industrial internet, promote applications in typical models such as platform-based design and networked collaboration to meet the business needs of key scenarios in “5G + industrial internet,” facilitating the intelligent transformation and digital networking of manufacturing. In the field of intelligent manufacturing, accelerate applications in research and development, production, and management, strengthening support capabilities in scenarios such as human-machine interaction and intelligent scheduling to meet the development needs of intelligent manufacturing. In the field of transportation logistics, carry out pilot applications such as smart warehousing and smart postal services to improve transportation efficiency and logistics service quality. In the field of smart grids, enhance applications in all aspects of new energy generation, digital transmission, intelligent substations, intelligent distribution, and intelligent electricity use, strengthening the “observable, measurable, and controllable” capabilities of the power system.

(6) Promoting Intelligent Social Governance. Basic telecom enterprises should leverage industrial and technological advantages to support localities in promoting large-scale applications of mobile IoT in areas such as municipal services, environmental protection, and emergency management, enhancing public service capabilities and social governance levels. In the field of municipal services, promote the networking and intelligent transformation of municipal public facilities and buildings, deploying intelligent water management, smart metering, and smart security perception terminals and city-level IoT platforms. In the field of environmental monitoring, use mobile IoT technology to achieve information collection, storage, and traceability, improving the accuracy and reliability of environmental monitoring data and promoting ecological environmental protection and governance. In the field of emergency management, combine with the production, procurement, storage, allocation, and transportation of emergency supplies to improve the efficiency and accuracy of emergency supplies management.

(7) Assisting in the Intelligentization of People’s Lives. Basic telecom enterprises should deepen cooperation with enterprises in the automotive, medical, and home appliance sectors, promoting the application of mobile IoT in intelligent connected vehicles, healthcare, and smart homes, making people’s lives more convenient and comfortable. In the field of intelligent connected vehicles, promote applications in driving monitoring and autonomous driving scenarios, achieving functions such as information exchange and sharing, complex environment perception, intelligent decision-making, and collaborative control, and encourage innovation in 5G RedCap vehicle-mounted applications. In the field of smart healthcare, expand intelligent applications in terminal devices such as blood pressure monitors, blood glucose meters, and wearables, conduct innovative applications of smart healthcare devices, and improve health management levels and health data analysis capabilities. In the field of smart homes, promote integrated applications in intelligent terminals such as lighting control, door locks, robots, and security monitoring, enhancing the overall intelligent service capabilities of homes.

5. Creating a Favorable Development Environment

(8) Optimizing Value Assessment Methods. Basic telecom enterprises should comprehensively assess the overall value of mobile IoT, reflecting the connection value of mobile IoT cards, hardware terminals, software platforms, and other business carriers, as well as the driving value for growth in computing, storage, and other businesses. They should optimize revenue statistical standards, incorporating IoT terminal hardware, platform services, etc., into communication service revenue, and including the revenue driven by business into the statistical scope of mobile IoT business, scientifically and reasonably reflecting the value of mobile IoT business, creating a favorable situation for the healthy development of the mobile IoT industry chain.

(9) Improving Industry Service Levels. Basic telecom enterprises should balance the relationship between industry development and user rights protection, comprehensively consider the connection and transition of 4G/5G and 2G/3G mobile IoT services, and provide various mobile IoT user services to meet user business selection needs. Improve user complaint handling mechanisms, optimize business processing procedures, and enhance industry service quality. The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology should organize basic telecom enterprises to draw up a coverage map of the mobile IoT network and publish network coverage information to assist industry enterprises in application innovation and business expansion.

(10) Perfecting Security Protection Mechanisms. Basic telecom enterprises should strengthen the construction of mobile IoT security protection capabilities, continuously deepen mobile IoT security risk assessments. Strengthen the security management of IoT cards, strictly implement security control measures for IoT cards, and enhance the security of IoT modules, terminals, and other devices. Strengthen data classification and grading protection, guide data processors to enhance data security protection and risk monitoring and early warning capabilities, and regularly conduct data security risk assessments to continuously improve data security protection levels. Based on national security, scientifically plan the construction of IoT networks and business development, and standardize the implementation of the “three synchronizations” requirements.

6. Guarantee Measures

(11) Strengthening Element Guarantees. Local communication management bureaus and industrial and information technology authorities should work with relevant local industry authorities to introduce supporting policies around network construction, industry applications, and industrial development to form a collaborative effort. Leverage the role of the national production and finance cooperation platform to promote financial institutions to provide diversified investment and financing support for mobile IoT enterprises and projects. Utilize the roles of basic telecom enterprises, industry alliances, and research institutions to conduct vocational training and talent certification, cultivating talents related to mobile IoT.

(12) Conducting Monitoring and Evaluation. The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology should study and establish a monitoring index system for the development of mobile IoT, conduct network capability testing for mobile IoT, build a coordination platform for mobile IoT applications, and promote solutions to issues such as supply-demand mismatches. Basic telecom enterprises should strengthen network construction, optimization, and operation and maintenance work to enhance network quality and service. Support the summary evaluation of the “Everything Connected” city development to promote the empowerment of local development by mobile IoT.

(13) Strengthening Communication and Promotion. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will continue to organize the collection of typical cases of mobile IoT, selecting a number of technically advanced, effective, and promising application cases. Strengthen the publicity and promotion of typical cases to create a demonstration effect and play a role in empowerment. Support the mobile IoT development matrix to carry out related industrial activities, building a number of mobile IoT technology and application innovation centers to promote cooperation, communication, and achievement transformation.

The General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology

August 29, 2024

The interpretation of the relevant content of the “Notice” is as follows:Q

1. What is the background and significance of the issuance of the “Notice”?

A

Mobile IoT is a new type of information infrastructure that uses mobile communication technology and networks as carriers, achieving ubiquitous intelligent connections among people, machines, and things through multi-network collaboration. It is an important driving force for the digital transformation of the economy and society.

With the joint efforts of all parties in the information and communication industry, in August 2022, the number of mobile IoT terminal users in China first exceeded the number of mobile phone users, making it the first country among major economies in the world to achieve “more things than people,” and significant achievements have been made in the development of mobile IoT. First, the network foundation is more solid. The largest, most widely covered, and best-performing network infrastructure in the world has been built. As of the end of July 2024, the total number of mobile communication base stations nationwide reached 11.93 million, forming differentiated access capabilities to meet the application needs of different industries. Second, the application scale continues to increase. As of the end of July 2024, basic telecom enterprises have developed 2.547 billion mobile IoT terminal users, accounting for 59% of the total mobile terminal connections, and the pace of mobile network “more things than people” continues to expand, widely applied in public services, vehicle networking, smart retail, smart homes, and other fields, with the empowering role of mobile IoT continuously highlighted. Third, the industrial ecosystem continues to grow. Efforts have been made to include NB-IoT in the 5G international standard, forming a complete mobile IoT industrial chain covering chips, modules, terminals, devices, and services, leading the world in technology research and development and standard formulation, with a number of leading enterprises emerging in modules, terminals, and other areas. Meanwhile, with the accelerated integration of artificial intelligence, big data, and other information communication technologies with mobile IoT, “everything connected intelligently” has become a major trend in the future development of mobile IoT. The high-quality development of mobile IoT in China faces challenges such as the need to optimize network coverage, breakthroughs in high-end industries, deeper industry applications, and the need to enhance connection value, requiring guidance for all industry parties to unite and accelerate the integration and development of mobile IoT with industries. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized in the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, “Accelerate the development of the Internet of Things. Accelerate the development of the digital economy, promote the deep integration of the digital economy and the real economy.” The decision of the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed to “improve the circulation system and accelerate the development of the Internet of Things.” The “Overall Layout Plan for Digital China Construction” clearly states to “promote the comprehensive development of mobile IoT.” The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology adheres to a problem-oriented approach, studies and publishes the “Notice” to further strengthen guidance, enhance the supply level of the mobile IoT industry, innovation empowerment capabilities, and overall industry value, and accelerate the transition of mobile IoT from “everything interconnected” to “everything connected intelligently,” assisting in the digital transformation of industries and new industrialization.Q

2. What are the main goals proposed in the “Notice”?

A

The “Notice” is based on the development rhythm of the mobile IoT industry and the current application status of mobile IoT across various sectors, assessing the development trends of mobile IoT, and determining the development goals for mobile IoT. By the end of 2027, a comprehensive ecological system for mobile IoT that is secure, reliable, and characterized by high and low combinations of 4G (including LTE-Cat1, which is 4G network of rate category 1) and 5G (including NB-IoT, narrowband IoT; RedCap, lightweight) will be further improved.

In terms of network infrastructure. Achieve deep coverage of 5G NB-IoT in key application scenarios for mobile IoT. Achieve large-scale coverage of 5G RedCap in cities at the county level and above nationwide, further extending coverage to key towns and rural areas. In terms of enhancing integrated application volume and intelligence. The number of mobile IoT terminal connections is expected to exceed 3.6 billion, with 4G/5G IoT terminal connections accounting for 95%. Cultivate a number of application areas with hundreds of millions of connections and create a number of application areas with tens of millions of connections. In terms of prosperous industrial ecosystem development. Support the construction of more than five mobile IoT industrial clusters nationwide and create more than ten mobile IoT industrial demonstration bases. Formulate no less than 30 mobile IoT standards.Q

3. What key tasks are outlined in the “Notice”?

A

The “Notice” proposes four main tasks focusing on network, application, standards, industry, service, and security aspects, systematically promoting the expansion of mobile IoT application scale and the prosperity of the industrial ecosystem.

First, solidifying the foundation of the IoT network. Appropriately build the mobile IoT network in advance based on demand, improve the deep coverage level of 5G NB-IoT in key areas, and accelerate the large-scale coverage of 5G RedCap in cities at the county level and above nationwide. Actively explore the application deployment of artificial intelligence technology in mobile IoT networks, adapt to scenarios such as urban intelligent connection, low-altitude intelligent connection, and agricultural intelligent connection. Strengthen network monitoring and optimization, conduct network capability testing, and promote the enhancement of network quality. Second, enhancing industrial innovation capabilities. Support basic telecom enterprises and specialized mobile IoT companies to leverage industrial advantages, cultivate leading enterprises that master key resources and core capabilities. Promote basic telecom enterprises to conduct innovative applications of artificial intelligence large models, reasonably open IoT platform capabilities, and promote data collection and effective utilization. Advance the construction of standard systems, enhance intelligent connection capabilities, and reduce the complexity of adaptation in the industrial chain. Support localities in building mobile IoT industrial clusters. Third, deepening intelligent integrated applications. Promote the deployment of mobile IoT in ten industry sectors through the digital transformation of industries, intelligent social governance, and assisting in the intelligentization of people’s lives, empowering vertical industry enterprises to improve quality, reduce costs, and increase efficiency. Promote the integration of mobile IoT in fields such as industrial manufacturing, transportation logistics, and smart grids to enhance production efficiency and management levels. Promote large-scale applications of mobile IoT in municipal services, environmental protection, and emergency management to enhance public service capabilities and social governance levels. Promote the application of mobile IoT in intelligent connected vehicles, healthcare, and smart homes to make people’s lives more convenient and comfortable. Fourth, creating a favorable development environment. Promote basic telecom enterprises to optimize value assessment methods, scientifically and reasonably reflect the value of mobile IoT business, creating a favorable situation for the healthy development of the industry chain. Promote basic telecom enterprises to improve user complaint handling mechanisms, publish network coverage information, and enhance industry service quality. Promote the improvement of network security protection mechanisms, enhancing the security protection levels of IoT cards, devices, and data.Q

4. What considerations does the “Notice” have regarding optimizing the value assessment methods for mobile IoT?

A

In recent years, the development of mobile IoT business in China has been rapid. As of the end of July 2024, the number of mobile IoT terminal users reached 2.547 billion, an increase of 18.6% compared to the same period last year, and the business revenue from January to July 2024 increased by 12.2% year-on-year, highlighting the scale effect and empowering role. However, from the perspective of revenue statistics of basic telecom enterprises, the proportion of mobile IoT revenue is relatively low, and direct revenues from terminals, platforms, etc., are not included in communication service revenue, while a large amount of revenue driven by computing, storage, etc., is not included in the mobile IoT revenue statistics, and the value brought by massive connections is not fully reflected in revenue statistics.

To scientifically and reasonably reflect the value of the mobile IoT industry and create a favorable environment for the healthy development of the industry chain, the “Notice” clearly proposes to optimize the value assessment methods for mobile IoT, promoting basic telecom enterprises to comprehensively assess the overall value of mobile IoT, reflecting the connection value of mobile IoT cards, hardware terminals, software platforms, and other business carriers, as well as the driving value for growth in computing, storage, and other businesses; optimizing revenue statistical standards to include IoT terminal hardware, platform services, etc., into communication service revenue, and including the revenue driven by business into the statistical scope of mobile IoT business.Q

5. How to ensure the implementation of the “Notice”?

A

To ensure the effective implementation of the tasks related to promoting mobile IoT, the “Notice” proposes three aspects of guarantee measures: First, strengthening element guarantees. Local communication management bureaus and industrial and information technology authorities should work with relevant local industry authorities to introduce supporting policies around network construction, industry applications, and industrial development to form a collaborative effort. Leverage the role of the national production and finance cooperation platform to promote financial institutions to provide diversified investment and financing support for mobile IoT enterprises and projects. Utilize the roles of basic telecom enterprises, industry alliances, and research institutions to conduct vocational training and talent certification, cultivating talents related to mobile IoT. Second, conducting monitoring and evaluation. The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology should study and establish a monitoring index system for the development of mobile IoT, conduct network capability testing for mobile IoT, build a coordination platform for mobile IoT applications, and promote solutions to issues such as supply-demand mismatches. Basic telecom enterprises should strengthen network construction, optimization, and operation and maintenance work to enhance network quality and service. Support the summary evaluation of the “Everything Connected” city development to promote the empowerment of local development by mobile IoT. Third, strengthening communication and promotion. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will continue to organize the collection of typical cases of mobile IoT, selecting a number of technically advanced, effective, and promising application cases. Strengthen the publicity and promotion of typical cases to create a demonstration effect and play a role in empowerment. Support the mobile IoT development matrix to carry out related industrial activities, building a number of mobile IoT technology and application innovation centers to promote cooperation, communication, and achievement transformation.

Source: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Department of Information and Communication Development

Editor: Yang Xiaoting

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