Some mobile data users may have noticed their phones can now access 5.5G, a 5G network upgrade launched in Macao on 22 July. Data transmission speeds are reportedly significantly faster on the new network, which is accessible to 5G-compatible smartphones.
Companhia de Telecomunicações de Macau (CTM), the company behind 5.5G’s launch in the SAR, has said that the Huawei-developed service was currently available in commercial areas with high concentrations of people – including Senado Square and some of the city’s entry ports.
Vice president of CTM’s commercial department Ebel Cham said the company would “continue to expand 5.5G coverage to more locations”.
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According to her, “If you’re a KOL streaming live, uploading data, or using new technologies such as AI and big data computing, you need a reliable network that can handle the application and data volume [and] 5.5G is the ideal solution.”
CTM launched the city’s first 5G service in November 2022, with China Telecom following a month later. That network was touted as key to what’s known as the “Internet of Things” (IoT), defined as an interconnected web of smart devices. Macao currently has more than 600,000 5G network users, TDM has reported.
The Chinese tech giant Huawei began talking about developing a 5.5G network – also known as 5G-Advanced – back in 2022, then unveiled its potential in Dubai in October 2023. The first large-scale 5.5G pilot network was deployed in Beijing this past January.
Huawei has said it expected to introduce even more advanced 6G coverage in 2030.
