BEIJING — The number of 5G mobile users in China had reached 475 million by the end of July, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Aug 19.

The figure registered a net increase of 120 million users compared with the end of 2021, an MIIT official told a press conference.

As of the end of July, the country had built approximately 1.97 million 5G base stations, with all prefecture-level cities, counties and 96 percent of towns equipped with 5G network coverage, according to the MIIT.

The construction of new information infrastructure including 5G networks and gigabit optical networks will continue to be promoted, and the deep integration of "double gigabit" networks with various fields will be accelerated, the MIIT said.

Efforts will also be made to gradually extend the coverage of high-quality networks to rural areas, and actively expand the application of new business forms in rural areas, the ministry said.