The city of Nanyang, Henan province has been approved as a demonstration city in 2016 during a campaign called "Broadband China".

Sponsored by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the National Development and Reform Commission, the campaign listed a total of 39 city candidates for the 2016 competition.

Currently, some 1.24 million households across Nanyang have broadband and more than 70 percent of the city is covered by a 4G network. Many villages in outlying areas also have broadband access.

Around 7,276 communication base stations have been set up in the city, 6,240 are 4G stations. Some key public areas are covered by free WiFi access.

Nanyang will use the construction of the "Broadband China" demonstration city as an opportunity to boost its efforts on next-generation network infrastructure. The city also aims to develop into a smart city.

It is expected that Nanyang will have invested more than 2.5 billion yuan ($375 million) every year into its network industry by the end of 2018, in a bid to optimize services and improve access and coverage for locals.