40 years on

Editor’s Note: This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up policy.

In June, 1990, the first PT Expo China was held in Beijing, resulting in 70 companies from 13 countries and regions to showcase their latest telecom products.

The item from June 5, 1990, in China Daily showed a videophone made by Mitsubishi attracting many visitors at the exhibition.

Last year, more than 450 exhibitors from home and abroad gathered at the annual event.

This year, the 27th PT Expo China will be held in the capital in September.

The products showcased at the fair in the recent decades indicate the dramatic change in the country’s telecom sector thanks to rapid economic growth and technology development.

Easy access to the internet and the proliferation of mobile devices have changed the way we communicate.

The rapid growth of socialnetworking platforms has further allowed people to maintain closer ties with friends and family via text, audio or video.

To guarantee the large demand of transmit data, Chinese companies have ramped up efforts to develop the next generation of mobile communication technologies, such as the high-speed fifth-generation network.

The 5G technology will be able to transmit data more than 10 times faster than the current 4G system and will take on tasks that are impossible in the 4G era, such as overseeing self-driving vehicles.

ZTE Corp announced last year a partnership with Italy’s largest operator Wind Tre and Italian wholesale fiber network operator Open Fiber, to build Europe’s first 5G precommercial network.