Recently, the statement "slowing down the speed of 4G in order to build 5G" has been widely circulated on the Internet, which has become a hot topic among many mobile phone users. In order to explore the truth about "whether 4G is slowing down", reporters from the Beijing News conducted a multi-day investigation and interviewed the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Beijing Municipal Communications Administration, communication experts, and operators. On this basis, the reporters from the Beijing News also used the Internet mobile phone terminal acquisition software Tel speed test of the Telecommunications Research Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to test the 4G network speed in some locations.

The test results show that at the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology on Huayuan North Road, Haidian District, the downlink speed of the 4G networks of the three major operators reached 42.85Mbps at the highest and 27.97Mbps at the lowest. When tested in the Heshenghui Business District in Chaoyang District, the lower downlink rate of the three major operators' 4G networks was 10.15Mbps, and the higher one was 43.46Mbps. Many experts explained that the data tested by Volkswagen in different locations and at different times cannot represent the 4G network speed in a certain city or the country.

At the same time, the network speed in densely populated areas was slightly slower

On August 22, at around 2 p.m., a reporter from the Beijing News conducted an actual measurement of the 4G speeds of the three major operators at the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology located on Huayuan North Road, Haidian District, Beijing. The results of the Tel speed test show that Beijing Mobile's uplink rate is 3.94Mbps and its downlink rate is 27.97Mbps; Beijing Telecom's uplink rate is 5.10Mbps and its downlink rate is 33.38Mbps; Beijing China Unicom's uplink rate is 27.00Mbps and its downlink rate is 42.85Mbps. At almost the same time, the reporter also conducted a test at a packed Starbucks coffee shop across the road from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. The 4G speeds of the three major operators were less than 1% of the speed tested by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology./2.

Around 8 p.m., a reporter from the Beijing News went to the Heshenghui business district on Dawang Road in Beijing to once again measure the 4G speeds of the three major operators. The Tel speed test results show that Beijing Mobile's uplink rate is 0.72Mbps and downlink rate is 10.15Mbps; Beijing Telecom's uplink rate is 8.58Mbps and its downlink rate is 43.46Mbps; Beijing Unicom's uplink rate is 5.95Mbps and its downlink rate is 40.61Mbps.

The reporter’s test found that there is a certain gap in the operator’s 4G network speed at different times and locations. Many experts told reporters that the results of 4G network speed tests conducted by Volkswagen at any time and place are not representative. Dang Meimei, deputy chief engineer of the Institute of Technical Standards of the Academy of Information and Communications Technology, said that data testing can indeed reflect the current state of 4G network capabilities, but when relevant domestic departments conduct authoritative data testing, they will conduct multi-sample measurements under unified standards.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology told a reporter from the Beijing News on August 22 that it has currently guided the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology to build a monitoring platform covering 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) across the country to monitor 4G network speeds through technical means. The number of monitoring samples per quarter has exceeded 71 million. Monitoring data shows that the national average 4G download speed has continued to increase steadily in recent years, reaching 23.78Mbps in July 2019. Overall, there has been no significant decrease in speed.

When a reporter asked whether the current 4G speed had dropped compared with historical data, an insider from Thiel Labs said that it did not exist.

Regarding the situation where some netizens use software to test their own speed and find that the 4G network speed is low, Dang Meimei said, "In the same location, even if you don't move your phone or move, there will be differences when you test again." A Beijing News reporter conducted three speed tests on the networks of the three major operators outside Guangqumen at 3:16 pm on August 22. The Tel speed test results show that no matter which operator's 4G network is used, the results of continuous tests are not the same. Taking China Unicom as an example, the first test result was an uplink rate of 0.29Mbps and a downlink rate of 10.68Mbps; the second test result was an uplink rate of 0.51Mbps and a downlink rate of 7.42Mbps; the third test result was an uplink rate of 0.32Mbps and a downlink rate of 14.00Mbps.

Dang Meimei said that the data tested by Volkswagen in different places and at different times cannot represent the 4G network speed of a certain city or the whole country. "This is related to the characteristics of the network. The (mobile phone) network itself is a wireless channel, and (the speed) depends on how many people are using the network at the same time."

"4G networks use the concept of shared spectrum. In a fixed-capacity network, the more users there are, the slower the network speed." Xu Fei, deputy chief engineer of the Wireless and Mobile Research Department of China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, said that the number of people using 4G networks at different times and locations will affect the 4G experience.

DOU nearly doubled in 7 months, putting 4G under pressure

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology disclosed that as of May this year, my country’s 4G user penetration rate was close to 77%. Compared with 5G, which is still under construction, 4G users are still the current mainstream. In recent years, my country has further promoted the "speed increase and fee reduction work". Fiber-optic broadband and 4G networks have achieved universal coverage in urban and rural areas. As of the second quarter of 2019, the proportion of 4G users nationwide reached 77.6%, ranking among the world's advanced ones.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also told the Beijing News reporter that as 2G/3G users accelerate their migration to 4G, as of July 2019, the number of 4G users in my country reached 1.24 billion, accounting for 78.3% of mobile phone users.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology explained that the rapid development of video services in recent years has put forward higher requirements for network capabilities. Operators have also launched large-traffic packages to attract users, further releasing user traffic needs. Statistics show that the average household mobile Internet access traffic (DOU) in 2018 was 4.42GB, and in July this year, the DOU reached 8.33GB, an increase of nearly 100%, which has put greater pressure on the 4G network. In addition, congestion caused by excessive website visits, traffic usage of the "maximum speed limit" package reaching the speed limit threshold, network maintenance and transformation in individual places, and other reasons will also affect the user experience rate within a certain period of time and scope. Especially in user-intensive areas such as concerts and train stations, there may be situations where too many users cause a temporary decrease in the experience rate.

In order to cope with the possible pressure on the 4G network, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated that it will take three major measures. First, continue to promote network speed increase and fee reduction, target traffic hotspot areas and areas with weak coverage, further improve 4G network coverage, and support rural areas. and the construction of 4G base stations in remote areas; the second is to guide operators to actively carry out network expansion and upgrades; the third is to coordinate the coordinated development of 4G and 5G, and while utilizing the high-speed and large-bandwidth characteristics of 5G to divert 4G network traffic, we will continue to do a good job in the operation, maintenance and transformation of 4G. (Trainee reporters Cheng Zijiao and Chen Shiyi)