Building the Foundation for an Intelligent Era with 5G-A Uplink Technology

In light of the growing demands for data upload speeds, stability, and latency from emerging scenarios like AI terminals, intelligent robots, and the low-altitude economy, the development of large uplink technology is not only a direction for network evolution but also a crucial pillar for solidifying the digital foundation of the AI era.

For instance, at the Xixi Wetland Scenic Area in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, a visitor named Mr. Zhang instructed the AI guide robot, “Xiao Tian, take me to the nearest restroom.” Utilizing 5G-A (5G-Advanced) large uplink technology, “Xiao Tian” collected environmental data in real-time and uploaded it to the cloud, planning the optimal route in milliseconds to guide Mr. Zhang to his destination.

This experience represents a vivid example of the integration of 5G-A technology and artificial intelligence in China. As the first demonstration zone for “5G-A × AI” large uplink technology in the country, Xixi Wetland has implemented a large uplink network with F/A SUL, achieving a peak upload rate of 1 Gbps and a ubiquitous upload rate of 20 Mbps. This advancement not only supports the shift from “manual monitoring” to “digital intelligent governance” in the scenic area but also lays the groundwork for various intelligent applications.

5G-A technology is an evolution of 5G, focusing on delivering extreme performance and innovative scenario support. In mobile communication networks, the process of user devices uploading data to base stations or networks is referred to as “uplink.” The significant enhancement in uplink capabilities, characterized by large uplink technology, is becoming an indispensable demand as artificial intelligence applications proliferate.

Large uplink technology is increasingly seen as a necessity. From AI guide robots to AI glasses for payments, and from robotic dogs delivering coffee to real-time generation of high-definition AI vlogs, 5G-A large uplink technology is bringing a multitude of intelligent applications into everyday life.

With the “14th Five-Year Plan” proposing brain-machine interfaces, embodied intelligence, and sixth-generation mobile communication as new economic growth points, the information and communications industry is entering a new wave of technological transformation.

As a pivotal phase in technological development, the advancement of 5G-A is crucial for the seamless transition to 6G and for seizing industrial opportunities. Currently, AI applications are penetrating deeply from the consumer sector to the industrial sector, enriching scenarios involving intelligent terminals, embodied robots, and the Internet of Vehicles, thereby shifting mobile network demands from a focus on download behavior to a balanced emphasis on both uplink and downlink.

In the Xixi Wetland demonstration area, AI guide robots need to upload multi-sensor data in real-time for smooth interaction, while intelligent security systems rely on high-frequency video transmission for AI analysis. If the uplink speeds are insufficient, it can lead to delays and interruptions, negatively impacting user experience and operational efficiency.

Industry experts suggest that to ensure a satisfactory user experience in “human-machine interaction” scenarios, an uplink rate of 20 Mbps is required, while achieving an optimal face-to-face communication experience necessitates an uplink rate of 64 Mbps. This highlights the urgency of large uplink technology.

A consensus has emerged in the industry. During the 2025 China Mobile Global Partners Conference, Yang Jie, Chairman of China Mobile, called for enhancing the uplink performance of wireless networks and creating a smart optical network to effectively meet the widespread connectivity, strong interaction, and high computing power needs of billions of intelligent entities and embodied intelligence.

To establish an efficient and reliable uplink channel, during the 2025 “Xiangchao” League, China Mobile’s Hunan Company upgraded the Changsha Helong Sports Center to a “5G-A Smart Fortress.” They deployed large uplink F/A SUL technology, enabling 4K video to be transmitted instantly, resulting in zero stuttering and a 100% success rate for short video playback.

This achievement reflects the industry’s efforts to overcome uplink technology bottlenecks. Facing challenges such as limited terminal transmission power and scarce uplink time slot resources, the industry has achieved breakthroughs through collaborative innovation. In the “5G-A Super Uplink Technology White Paper” released by China Mobile in collaboration with several industry partners, key technologies including Supplementary Uplink (SUL), multi-carrier aggregation, and frame structure adjustment were proposed, forming the “capability matrix” for large uplink.

The Supplementary Uplink (SUL) technology acts as a “resource allocator” for uplink. It can flexibly allocate different frequency resources, prioritizing uplink transmission needs by repurposing high-quality frequency bands originally intended for downlink. This is akin to creating dedicated express lanes for uplink data during peak traffic times.

Multi-carrier aggregation technology focuses on “widening the lanes.” It can simultaneously manage multiple uplink transmission channels across different frequency bands and schedule transmission times to avoid resource conflicts, efficiently combining the capacity of multiple “lanes.” This technology can boost uplink peak rates to 850 Mbps, providing users with a broader uplink pathway.

Frame structure adjustment technology functions like a “tidal lane.” Traditional networks allocate specific frequency resources predominantly for downlink, typically at a ratio of 2:8 for uplink to downlink. By optimizing the time resource allocation, a larger proportion of time resources can be designated for uplink use, improving the uplink to downlink resource ratio to 3:7 or even higher, significantly enhancing the overall capacity of the uplink channel.

Standards play a crucial role in ensuring the large-scale implementation of technology. In the “5G Mobile Phone Product White Paper (2026 Edition),” China Mobile clearly outlines the technical path, mandating that terminals must support F/A SUL frequency combinations, and stipulating that from 2026 onward, products priced at 3,500 yuan and above must possess SUL or uplink NRCA capabilities.

Currently, large-scale deployments are underway in various regions across the country. Besides the large uplink demonstration zone in Hangzhou, Shanghai Mobile is also utilizing multi-carrier aggregation, multi-user MIMO, and ultra-large-scale antenna array technologies at iconic tourist sites such as Lujiazui, the Bund, and City God Temple, effectively unlocking network potential and allowing domestic and international tourists to experience the charm of Shanghai as an international metropolis.

Respondents indicate that these cases demonstrate that large uplink technology can effectively meet the demands of AI applications and lay a foundation for commercial promotion.

The diverse services enabled by large uplink technology require low latency, high reliability, and “deterministic” capabilities from the network. This drive is pushing mobile communication networks to evolve from a traditional “best-effort” model to one that guarantees a “deterministic” experience, providing predictable, measurable, and assured differentiated services for various applications.

China’s three major operators are actively promoting the integration of AI technology with 5G-A networks by introducing intelligent architectures and transitioning their operation and maintenance models to high-level intelligent networks (AN L4) to achieve dual objectives of cost reduction and business innovation.

Industry insiders believe that the deep integration of AI and 5G-A is driving a transformation in the operation and maintenance system.

The first aspect is interaction reshaping: utilizing communication large models and digital twin technology to change traditional manual interaction modes and establish a new mechanism driven by natural language for “carbon-silicon collaboration.” The second aspect is capability reshaping: integrating AI capabilities throughout the entire process of network planning, construction, maintenance, and optimization, enabling dynamic and precise allocation of network resources. The third aspect is process reshaping: transitioning operation and maintenance from passive fault responses to proactive predictive prevention and upgrades, significantly enhancing operational efficiency.

In this transformation, operators are leveraging their advantages to create differentiated development paths.

China Telecom has elevated the construction of intelligent networks to a group strategy, aiming for “extremely superior customer experience, ultra-fast product service, and highly intelligent cloud-network operations,” advancing the intelligent capability upgrade of cloud-network operations. Its “Intelligent Aggregation for Large Uplink” focuses on intelligent orchestration and spectrum pooling to create an efficient AI service carrier network.

China Mobile, centered on its intelligent network strategy, is comprehensively enhancing the intelligence level of network and service operations. By coordinating wireless network intelligent agents with intelligent components, it aims to achieve the four capabilities of predictability, guarantee, protection, and assessment for scenario-based experience packages.

China Unicom, as an important practitioner of intelligent networks, is launching the CUBE-Net 4.0 after progressing through stages of “broadband networking,” “elastic cloud-network,” and “intelligent computing network.” Its “AI × Large Uplink” initiative enhances user experience assurance and promotes the integration of multiple technologies.

The successful implementation and continuous innovation of large uplink technology are dependent on the collaborative advancement of the industrial ecosystem. Operators are actively gathering industry chain strength through terminal cooperation plans and application innovation platforms.

For example, China Mobile has launched the “Smart Engine·Enjoy Action,” aiming for AI-customized mobile phone sales to exceed 10 million units by 2026 and AI-related terminal scale to surpass 5 million units. The “Smart Hong·Ten Thousand Connections Action,” supported by the China Mobile Intelligent Operating System, promotes deep adaptation of chips and terminals. The “Gathering Intelligence·Symbiosis Action” aims to create an online platform for extensive sales coverage of terminal products.

As the integration of 5G-A and AI continues to deepen, large uplink technology will play a vital role in supporting the low-altitude economy, smart manufacturing, digital healthcare, and other innovative developments. The industry must continue to strengthen technological research, standard collaboration, and business model innovation to promote the evolution of network infrastructure toward greater efficiency and intelligence, injecting new momentum into the construction of a strong digital nation.