From October 10 to 12, the 2025 China Mobile Global Partner Conference took place in Guangzhou, China. At the event, China Mobile Internet, a subsidiary of China Mobile, unveiled its first calling agent, "Lingxi", powered by 5G New Calling. This innovation seamlessly integrates AI and communications technologies, heralding a new era where 'Call as a Service' becomes a reality.
Alipay, a subsidiary of Ant Group, has partnered with China Mobile Internet to incorporate its AI healthcare manager AQ into "Lingxi" to create a healthcare consultation calling agent accessible through a dedicated service hotline. Combining voice interaction with multi-modal collaboration, users can easily access a range of services, including health education, medical consultations, medical verification, and online appointment booking. This partnership aims to enhance healthcare accessibility for all.
With an aging population and rapid advancements in AI technology, the demand for accessible health services continues to grow. Now, elderly users can effortlessly consult about their health conditions, verify health information, and check medication details with a simple phone call, bypassing the need to navigate complex systems. People in remote areas can also access and validate medical resources remotely. Additionally, township healthcare centers can utilize AI-assisted diagnostics via mobile phones to improve the accuracy of local care.
This marks the first integration of Data Channel (DC) technology into consumer-level services using 5G New Calling. During the conference, attendees observed that when users dial a dedicated service hotline with a DC-capable phone, the call screen transforms into a visual service window. Users can directly upload health check reports and photograph medications, creating a seamless service experience that combines speaking, viewing, and task handling. By enhancing traditional voice and video calls with real-time data transmission, this technology supports touchscreen interactions and the exchange of multimedia content like images, text, and files. With an end-to-end delay of just tens of milliseconds, it is ideal for real-time service applications.
China Mobile has emerged as the world's first operator to commercialize data channels, successfully upgrading its networks nationwide and fostering the widespread adoption of DC services. By the end of 2025, it is projected that 70 different terminal models from leading brands such as Huawei, Honor, OPPO, vivo, and Xiaomi will support DC, with 25 million DC-enabled devices set to enter the market. As DC terminals become more prevalent and the developer ecosystem matures, DC interaction services are poised to expand into diverse sectors, including travel, culture and tourism, government affairs, and insurance.
Industry analysis suggests that the integration of AI calling agents with DC technology marks a significant step towards the 'Call as a Service' model. This innovative approach is anticipated to serve as a new intelligent gateway, connecting people and services more effectively and driving communication services towards greater intelligence and multi-modality.