Tests to ensure firms can make pre-commercial products quickly

China will start the third phase of 5G technical tests next year, as it aims to get pre-commercial 5G products ready when standards on the next-generation communication technology are expected to come out in June 2018.

Wen Ku, director of the telecom development department at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at a news conference on Friday that "the third phase of technical tests is to ensure that companies are capable of making pre-commercial 5G products."