The number of 5G users in Beijing is approaching the 2 million threshold after Chinese telecom operators launched 5G commercial services more than five months ago, the municipality's communications administration announced on Tuesday.

As of March 30, 17,744 5G base stations had been deployed in Beijing, it said, adding that the city will continue building up the infrastructure as it aims to play a leading role in the industry, the administration said.

It predicted that the number of 5G base stations in Beijing would surpass 30,000 by the end of 2020, and 5G indoor coverage equipment would be installed in 5,000 buildings across the city.

Of the telecom operators in the city, the Beijing branch of China Unicom has the biggest share of 5G users, with more than 1 million.

According to the latest 5G user tally through March 30, China Mobile's Beijing branch had 727,900 users, and China Telecom's Beijing branch had 253,000.

The cutting edge technology has been applied in a wide range of fields, such as internet education, online healthcare, HD videos, internet games, remote work, community management, streaming services and manufacturing.