Its real value hidden in coal mines, sweltering steel mills

As a tech reporter, I have been bombarded with comments like "What's the point of 5G? 5G hasn't changed my life". But firsthand observation over the past six years has helped me realize that such a mindset reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of technological evolution.

While consumers rightly note the absence of flashy killer apps like those birthed by 4G (think WeChat and TikTok), they're missing the industrial revolution unfolding in mines, steel mills and factories across China — a transformation proving more profound than any consumer-facing application could ever be.

An open-pit coal mine in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region is a case in point. In May, a fleet of 100 autonomous electric mining trucks began operating at the mine, marking the largest-scale application of such vehicles globally.