While the World Catches Up to 5G, China Has Launched 10G
This advancement positions China at the forefront of next-generation internet services.
Lately, it feels like every other day, a headline or TikTok clip is showing off some futuristic city in China—robot dogs patrolling streets, AI-driven cars zipping around, buildings glowing like sci-fi movie sets.
Adding to this momentum, China has quietly launched the world's first commercial 10-gigabit (10G) broadband network, while a lot of the world is still trying to get solid 5G coverage.
Unveiled in Sunan County, Hebei Province, and rolled out in Xiong’an New Area—a tech-forward city southwest of Beijing—this network delivers speeds that were once the stuff of science fiction. Backed by Huawei and China Unicom, the 10G service reaches download speeds close to 10,000 Mbps. That’s fast enough to download a 20GB 4K film in under 20 seconds. For context, a typical 1 Gbps connection takes 7 to 10 minutes for the same file.
Louis Eriakha
The tech behind this leap is 50G Passive Optical Network (PON), which dramatically boosts data throughput over traditional fibre-optic. It’s tailor-made for bandwidth-heavy tasks—think VR, AR, 8K streaming, and cloud computing.
To be clear, the term "10G" in this context refers to fixed-line broadband services, not the next iteration of mobile data following 5G. But its implications are just as big. Especially in an era where reliable, high-speed internet has become as crucial as electricity or water.
A widening technological gap
This advancement, without doubt, positions China at the forefront of next-generation internet services.
What’s even more interesting is the timing. The U.S. has been throwing everything at China to slow down its tech growth; blocking access to advanced chips, blacklisting Chinese companies, and slapping tariffs on everything from EVs to solar gear. But China doesn’t look like it’s slowing down. If anything, they’re moving faster and making big plays like making 10G a reality while others are still talking about it.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
Many regions worldwide are still in the early stages of 5G adoption. In India and large parts of Africa, 4G remains the dominant mobile standard. As of April 2025, only about 25% of global mobile users are on 5G, according to 5G Americas. Even 5G-Advanced—the next evolution of the standard— is barely getting off the ground.
In Latin America, 4G accounted for roughly 74% of mobile connections in 2024. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 5G made up just 17% of mobile subscriptions. Southeast Asia’s adoption rate sat at 39.2% as of 2024, per Ericsson. Even North America, a leader in rollout, has only just reached 77% 5G adoption.
Right now, China’s 10G network is limited to a few areas. But it’s more than a flashy upgrade. It’s a hint at what lies ahead: a world where telemedicine is instant, virtual classrooms feel like the real thing, and even agriculture runs on big data in real time. The rest of the world may not be ready for 10G just yet, but China is already living in its test version of tomorrow.
