China now boasts over 200 cities with gigabit network coverage, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all prefecture-level cities, an official of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said in Nanning City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Friday.

"So far, 207 cities nationwide have been built into gigabit cities, with over 210 million gigabit users. We have achieved gigabit network coverage across all counties," said Zhao Ce, deputy director of the Information and Communications Development Department of the ministry at a gigabit network application innovation competition.

He said that the ministry will continue to expand gigabit fiber network coverage in urban areas and extend it to towns and rural villages based on demand, promoting balanced regional development.

The official said efforts will also focus on deepening gigabit applications in vertical industries such as intelligent manufacturing, smart transportation, energy, and culture and tourism.

China will also systematically advance 10-gigabit optical network trials, aiming to overcome key challenges, accelerate the establishment of a mature 10-G industry chain, and build a complete industrial system, Zhao said.

Currently, 86 cities nationwide have launched 10G optical network piloting across 168 communities, factories, and industrial parks, signaling a rapid evolution of fiber network industry from gigabit to 10G.

"China will orderly advance the deployment of 10G optical network pilots and pace up to push the network toward ultra-high-speed, large-capacity, and intelligent development. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), gigabit access technologies are expected to become the mainstream. In the future, key technologies for 10G optical networks will first be piloted in selected cities, and through their demonstration, they will guide and drive the gradual rollout of 10G piloting applications across the country," said Li Shaohui, director of the Broadband Business 

Department under the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology.

Today, gigabit optical networks are already empowering sectors of industry, education, medical care, energy, and agriculture, with innovative applications emerging across 87 of China's 97 major economic sectors.

As 10G pilot projects officially get underway, many existing gigabit projects are now gearing up for a full upgrade to 10G speeds.