Marbridge Daily

China's Three Main Telcos Add 27 Mln 5G Subs in September 2023

Marbridge Consulting, 10/23/23

The listed arms of China's three main telecom operators have announced their subscriber totals for the month of September 2023, including a combined net increase of approximately 26.81 mln 5G package subscribers in China, boosting their combined 5G package subscriber base to over 1.306 bln. As of the end of September, 5G package subscribers accounted for 75.8% and 75.8% of the total mobile subscriber bases of China Telecom and China Mobile, respectively.

China Mobile

China Mobile (0941.HK; 600941.SH) reported a net gain of 3.56 mln mobile subscribers during the month, raising the telecom operator's total mobile user base to 990.03 mln. China Mobile increased its 5G package subscriber base by 17.18 mln to reach a total of 750.36 mln.

China Mobile defines a 5G package customer as a mobile customer who has subscribed to 5G tariff plans. Customers sharing 5G tariff plans without subscription are not included in the operator's 5G subscriber totals.

China Mobile's total number of fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) rose to 294.68 mln in September, representing a net increase of 4.23 mln during the month, and 22.52 mln since the beginning of the year.

China Telecom

China Telecom (0728.HK; 601728.SH) saw a net increase of 2.16 mln mobile subscribers in September, raising its total to 405.81 mln, of which 307.61 mln were 5G package subscribers. During the month, the operator's 5G user base rose by 4.63 mln subscribers.

China Telecom lost 0.30 mln fixed-line telephone subs in September, reducing its total to 102.13 mln.

China Telecom reported an increase of 1.49 mln fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) during the month, boosting its total to 189.26 mln.

China Unicom

China Unicom (0762.HK; 600050.SH) reported that as of the end of September 2023, its aggregate number of "Big Connectivity" subscribers reached 959.30 mln, up 12.08 mln month-on-month and up 97.56 mln since the end of 2022. China Unicom's "Big Connectivity" category is comprised of the operator's combined total aggregate mobile billing subscribers, fixed-line telephone subscribers, fixed-line broadband subscribers, Internet-of-things terminal connections, and networking leased line subscribers. Of this total, 248.07 mln were 5G package subscribers, representing a net gain of 5.00 mln month-on-month and 35.35 mln since the end of 2022; and 467.04 mln were Internet-of-things terminal connections, up 7.37 mln month-on-month and up 81.50 mln since the end of 2022.

China Unicom also reported that its number of customers served by virtual 5G industry private network for the month of September was 6,897, up 390 month-on-month. Virtual 5G industry private network is a key metric in the government's "5G Applications 'Sailing' Action Plan (2021-2023)."

Mobile Subscriber Stats for China's Three Main Carriers (Unit: Mln)

On September 28, Yang Guorui, deputy director of China’s National Radio and Television Administration, also announced that the 5G subscriber base of China’s fourth 5G network operator, China Broadnet, had recently exceeded 18 mln. Broadnet officially launched 5G network services just over a year ago, on June 27, 2022. Because Broadnet is not yet reporting its 5G subscriber totals on a regular, monthly basis, Marbridge is not yet integrating its totals with those of China’s three more established telecom operators above.

Keywords: national statistics China Telecom China Mobile China Unicom fixed-line Internet broadband telecom wireless mobile subscribers 5G broadband subscribers 0728.HK 0762.HK 0941.HK 600050.SH 601728.SH 600941.SH fixed-line subscribers Yang Guoru Broadnet