SHIJIAZHUANG - North China's Hebei province will build 15,000 5G base stations by the end of this year to speed up its 5G network construction, said local authorities Friday.

The urban areas of all the 11 cities and Xiongan New Area in Hebei are expected to be covered by the 5G network by the year-end, according to the provincial communications administration.

The province plans to increase its annual investment in 5G fixed assets to 13.87 billion yuan ($1.96 billion) and further step up the promotion of 5G applications on key fields such as industrial internet, telemedicine and smart city.

As of March 4, a total of 3,360 5G base stations were under construction in Hebei, said local authorities.