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Qinghai Mobile and ZTE Jointly Guard Hoh Xil with 5G

Recently, Sanjiangyuan National Park, Qinghai Mobile, together with China Tower and ZTE, opened the first 5G base station at Zhuonai Lake Conservation Station in the hinterland of Hoh Xil Nature Reserve. This means that the largest uninhabited area in China, the world natural heritage site with the highest altitude and the richest wildlife resources, has opened a new chapter in animal protection and ecological monitoring through 5G and world connectivity.


Zhuonai Lake is located in the center of Hoh Xil Nature Reserve, known as the “Tibetan antelope delivery room”. Every May to July, tens of thousands of female Tibetan antelopes migrate over long distances and come to the vicinity of Zhuonai Lake to concentrate on giving birth. Therefore, Zhuonai Lake is an important observation and relay point for the protection of Tibetan antelopes, and the protection station staff need to conduct long-term patrol and support work in the area.
In early May, the deployment of 5G base stations for the Zhuonai Lake Protection Station was officially launched. The harsh natural environment such as high altitude, high cold, strong winds, and frozen soil in the local area poses enormous challenges to the technical solutions and equipment performance. Qinghai Mobile and ZTE have worked closely together to overcome various difficulties such as personnel hypoxia, altitude sickness, and wildlife invasion. Over a period of more than 20 days, they have completed the business opening with high standards, efficiency, and quality, and for the first time, they have made video phone calls in the boundless unmanned area.
It is reported that the 5G base station deployed this time adopts two frequency bands, with a balance between coverage and capacity. The 700MHz frequency band combines 5G ultra far coverage technology, with a coverage radius of over 10 kilometers, and a single base station covering the entire area of Zhuonai Lake; The 2.6GHz frequency band can support 32 channels of high-definition video upload, fully meeting the large bandwidth requirements for high-definition video return around the protection station. The base station adopts large bandwidth and long-distance microwave relay for transmission, with a single hop span of over 57 kilometers. Moreover, all equipment on the site is powered by solar energy, which can withstand strong winds of level 11 and withstand severe cold temperatures of minus 50 degrees Celsius.


Hu Bo, General Manager of Qinghai Mobile, stated that the protection work environment in Kekexili is very difficult. Extending China’s 5G network coverage to unmanned areas, assisting in environmental protection, and enhancing comprehensive management of protected areas is something Qinghai Mobile has always wanted to do. At present, the maximum internet transmission rate around the protection station can reach 860Mbps. A high-quality 5G network can not only achieve real-time observation of Tibetan antelopes’ litter, allowing staff in the protected area to avoid isolation in the harsh environment, but also provide the possibility for subsequent environmental protection, ecological monitoring, scientific investigation, and changes in the management methods of the protected area.

Sun Lijun, deputy director of the Sanjiangyuan National Park Administration, said that the opening and operation of the Zhuonai Lake 5G base station is a key step for the national park to achieve intelligent management. In the future, it will further improve the scientific management efficiency of the national park and form a more perfect protection and scientific research mechanism for Hoh Xil.
Life blooms, communication escorts. Later, Sanjiangyuan National Park, Qinghai Mobile, China Tower and ZTE will deepen cooperation to enable communication technology to enable the protection of world natural heritage and jointly build regional ecological civilization.