SHENZHEN (XINHUA) - Southern China's technological powerhouse Shenzhen will launch pilot project for 5G commercial use this year (2019), local authorities have said.

Shenzhen will install 1,955 5G base stations this year, according to the city's bureau of industry and information technology.

This will speed up applications such as the Internet of Things, smart manufacturing and connected vehicles, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

Shenzhen - which is known as China's Silicon Valley - aims to reach 851,000 users via 100M optical fiber cable this year.

According to Shenzhen's 5G deployment plan, it will take the lead to carry out the commercial use of 5G technology, building small-scale networks in 2019.

"The benefits for Shenzhen to conduct a pilot programme of the commercial uses of 5G technology are larger than any other cities in China, because Shenzhen has a large number of mobile phone companies and the most centralised mobile phone industry chain in the country," Mr Wang Yanhui, head of the Shanghai-based Mobile China Alliance, told the Global Times recently.

Chinese tech firms such as Huawei, Oppo and Vivo, are all based in Shenzhen, which is also working to improve free Wi-Fi service in public places.

Chinese cities are starting to adopt the 5G network to meet public demand.

Late last month (Jan), the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in south China's Guangdong province launched a 5G base station.

An indoor 5G network will be installed in the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station by the end of this year.