Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau mega bridge now has 5G, opening door to immersive sight-seeing tours

Next time you go across the mega bridge linking Hong Kong with Zhuhai and Macau, remember to bring a 5G smartphone to enjoy your favourite TV drama streamed in lighting fast speed courtesy of the bridge’s new 5G services – provided you are the passenger.

A total of 24 5G base stations have been installed on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB), a 55-kilometre bridge-tunnel system, which is both the world’s longest sea crossing and longest open-sea fixed link.

The mainland section of the bridge has enjoyed full 5G coverage since early July, with an average speed of 600 megabits per second (Mbps). The speed is expected to reach as high as 1000 Mbps later, according to the department of transportation of east China’s Guangdong province.

Over time the 5G network is expected to enable the development of applications such as immersive sightseeing tours, high-definition facial recognition and autonomous driving tests on the bridge, according to the local government.

The next-generation network will also help a national research and development plan to guide intelligent operation and maintenance of the bridge, together with the country’s Beidou navigation satellite system and other new technologies, such as big data and 3D digital modelling. Launched late last year, the R&D plan will last about three years.

Su Quanke, chief engineer of HZMB, said it would take at least three months and cost over 10 million yuan (US$1.43 million) for a traditional, manual inspection of the whole bridge and that time and labour costs could be greatly reduced via the use of artificial intelligence.