China plans 5G coverage for world's longest sea bridge
The 34-mile span is ready for the upgrade.
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge opened in October and China says it's ready to add 5G coverage next year.
China will bring the next generation of wireless technology to the world's longest sea bridge.
The 34-mile (55 km) bridge, which opened last month, links Hong Kong, Macau and the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai by road. It's now been prepared for 5G coverage, China's state-run Xinhua press agency reported Sunday.
Workers managed to extend the coverage area of the optical fiber to more than 12 miles (20 km), double the usual onshore coverage, to get network signal to the entire bridge, the report noted.
"The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao bridge now has good coverage of 4G service," said Fang Zheng, vice general manager of the WLAN office of ZTE, the bridge's network operator.
"Experts and workers have overcome the difficulties of a complex construction environment and the lack of an optical fiber to provide tailored 4G solutions for the bridge and prepare for the future upgrading of 5G service."
China's network carriers are expected to make the leap to 5G next year, along with those in Japan and Korea.
ZTE didn't immediately respond to a request for further comment.
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