Tech giants reveal 5G innovations in Barcelona

Visitors walk in front of the China Mobile stand at the Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona, Spain, Feb 22, 2016. The Mobile World Congress (MWC), the most important mobile communication event in the world, opened its doors in Barcelona on Monday. [Photo/Xinhua]

It has teamed up with Nokia to give audiences a peek at how the next-generation of communications technology can allow a computer to remotely control a robot that balances a ball on a moving board.

Huang Yuhong, vice-president of China Mobile's research institute, said 5G technology can execute tasks that were impossible using 4G or earlier technologies, because it has ultra-high capacity and ultra-low latency.

"Autonomous manufacturing with massive use of robots is one use. 5G technology will provide the network infrastructure to support China's manufacturing upgrading initiative," Huang said.

Other Chinese companies are also bringing their flagship devices and new services to the MWC.

Lenovo Group Ltd, the world's biggest personal computer maker, is introducing a global wireless roaming service called Lenovo Connect in Barcelona.

Users will no longer need to buy a locally issued SIM card when traveling abroad, but instead, the service provides Internet connection in more than 110 countries.