World's first 5G+ five-star shopping mall opens in Shanghai

Source: Huawei. A phone showing the data speeds possible in the mall.

The China Real Estate Association, China Mobile Shanghai, and Huawei have launched the world's first 5G+ five-star shopping mall, on the eve of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day on May 17.

Shanghai Lujiazui L+ Mall uses the 5G digital indoor system (DIS) to provide the mall itself, customers, and registered stores with a high-quality shopping and service experience. The development is a key milestone in the integrated development of the communication and real estate industries.

The L+ Mall spans 12 storeys and is over 140,000 sq m in gross floor area. China Mobile Shanghai and Huawei have deployed 5G DIS at life aesthetics zones on the first and fifth floors of the mall. Visitors can experience Gbps-level rates and HD video calls on 5G networks with 5G mobile phones in these areas. Services such as shopping assistance, delivery, and destination guidance offered by 5G smart robots improve the service efficiency of the shopping mall.

Other services available in 5G-covered shopping areas include 5G-based artificial intelligence (AI) face recognition, 5G+8K HD video, precise indoor navigation, and analysis of human traffic.

"The deployment and implementation of 5G network capabilities will accelerate the transformation from traditional buildings to smart buildings and provide new opportunities for the further development of the real estate industry," said Cai Yun, Secretary-General of the Commercial Cultural Tourism Committee of China Real Estate Association.

Source: Huawei. Cai, Zhao, Zhang, Wang Guanghua, GM, Government and Enterprise Customer Department, China Mobile Shanghai Branch, and Peng kicked off the launch ceremony.

"The China Real Estate Association fully participates in the formulation of relevant standards in the real estate industry in China, and promotes the industrial ecosystem of domestic smart buildings. The description of intelligent systems is added to this release of evaluation criteria for shopping malls to guide development enterprises on how to build interconnected and interworking shopping malls. In the future, we will continue to promote the adaptation and application of 5G cellular networks in the real estate industry, enable indoor cellular networks to become an important aspect of building infrastructure, accelerate the transformation of the real estate industry, and facilitate the further development of real estate economy."

Zhao Qi, GM, Shanghai Lujiazui Group Company commented, "Through a combination of advanced technologies, we hope L+ Mall can provide our customers with a convenient shopping experience and a rich aesthetic experience. We also wish to provide intelligent facilities for our stores to improve their operations and maintenance (O&M) efficiency and maximise returns on investment (ROI).

"I believe that the experience of Shanghai Lujiazui L+Mall, China Real Estate Association, China Mobile Shanghai, and Huawei in building a 5G five-star shopping mall will become a benchmark for shopping centres in China and even around the world. It can provide a positive reference for the transformation of shopping centres into smart buildings in the real estate industry."

"In recent years, users in shopping malls have higher requirements on their mobile communication experience, such as HD online video, mobile payment, and immersive virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) gaming. Large shopping malls have also become a word-of-mouth application scenario of China Mobile Shanghai", said Zhang Hanliang, Deputy GM of the China Mobile Shanghai Branch.

"With the joint efforts of China Mobile and Huawei, 5G deployment is implemented on an experimental basis, and a new important scenario is added to China Mobile Shanghai's leading 5G application. The arrival of 5G will not only increase the download rate of users, but also drive digital transformation of the entire industry. We are willing to work with partners to study 5G applications in five-star shopping malls and build an excellent shopping experience."

Ritchie Peng, President of Huawei DIS Product Line, said, "5G is rapidly coming into our lives. At the beginning of this year, we started the construction of a 5G railway station with China Mobile Shanghai. Today, we witness the deployment of 5G networks in Lujiazui L+ Mall, and also see the demonstration of 5G mobile phones and 5G robots in the shopping mall.

"However, the rapid popularisation of 5G indoor coverage requires the cooperation of multiple parties. I am very glad to see that the China Real Estate Association can add cellular communication modules to the evaluation criteria in the real estate industry. We also expect that along with more industry partners, we can jointly promote the healthy development of the digital industry ecosystem for indoor coverage."

At the launch event, the China Real Estate Association also released a report detailing evaluation criteria for shopping malls. The report noted that digital cellular telecommunications systems are an important component for digital transformation of shopping malls.