Development of NearLink in China

Chinese IT players are pushing NearLink technologies to satisfy short-range communication demand amid the trade tensions between the US and China. The emerging communication technology NearLink is positioning itself as an alternative to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in the Chinese market and is competitive regarding network latency and the number of terminal connections. NearLink technology began commercialization in the latter half of 2023, with Huawei rallying relevant stakeholders to form an industry alliance. NearLink is expected to coexist with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth in its early development stages rather than aiming to replace them outright. Table 2: SLB and SLE structure comparison with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Table 3: SLB and SLE specification comparison with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Table 8: Summary of NearLink technologies and applications.