"The freeze of standalone 5G NR radio specifications represents a major milestone in the quest of the wireless industry towards realizing the holistic 5G vision," Balázs Bertényi, chairman of 3GPP TSG RAN, said in a press release on the website of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, or 3GPP, a body that governs global cellular standards.

Balázs Bertényi, Chairman of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, or 3GPP, a body that governs global cellular standards, noted that, "5G NR standalone systems not only dramatically increase the mobile broadband speeds and capacity, but also open the door for new industries beyond telecommunications that are looking to revolutionize their ecosystem through 5G."

He adds, "The new system provides the foundation for ongoing specialization for support of new business sectors, and unlike 4G and past generations, 5G supports the very specific requirements and individual service characteristics of diverse communications."

Chinese smartphone vendor Vivo vowed to step up 5G smartphone research and development, and strives to release a 5G SA smartphone in 2019, said Shi Yujian, senior vice-president and chief technology officer of the company.

As National Business Daily reported, Chinese technology companies such as Huawei, Vivo and Lenovo are expected to issue their first 5G cell-phones in the second half of 2019.

"The 5G devices will be mature for commercial applications in China in 2019. We will be among the first batch of countries to issue 5G licenses in the world, most likely between the second half of 2019 and the first half of 2020," Wang Zhiqin, an expert with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told China Daily in an earlier report.

China.org.cn cited a report released by global accounting firm Ernst & Young on Wednesday, saying that 5G users in China will reach 576 million by 2025, or over 40 percent of global consumption, and the country will spend 1.5 trillion yuan (USD 223 billion) on 5G between 2019 and 2025.

However, the report said that early 5G networks will most likely be used as hotspots to supplement existing mobile broadband technologies in first-tier cities, as 4G still has tremendous growth potential and will not be replaced in the short term.