A 5G commercial center was established in Qidong, a county-level city in Nantong, Jiangsu province, on Nov 22. It is the first of its kind in the city and marks the beginning of the development of 5G in Qidong.

Many locals visited the center to experience the fast 5G network speed offered at the China Mobile service halls. In a speed test conducted by a worker, download speeds reached nearly 1 Gbps.

A 5G speed test is conducted at a China Mobile service hall in Qidong. [Photo/ntjoy.com]

"The 5G network is super-fast, has huge bandwidth, and has very short delay times compared with 4G. For example, it takes about five minutes to download a movie through a 4G network, but just five seconds with 5G," said a 5G network engineer.

Residents can make use of the 5G network without changing their phone numbers or SIM cards by searching for nearby 5G areas on their phones. VR glasses will also be introduced at the center.

This is the first year that 5G has been available for commercial use, and Qidong is pushing ahead with the technology with the goal of achieving full citywide coverage.

Nantong plans to offer basic 5G coverage in its city center and in the urban areas of all its counties.