Marbridge Daily

China Telecom Outpaces China Mobile to Reach 18.5% 5G Penetration in Sep 2020

Marbridge Consulting, 10/22/20

The listed arms of China's three main telecom operators have announced their subscriber totals for the month of September 2020, including a combined net gain of roughly 2.45 mln mobile subscribers in China, boosting their combined mobile subscriber base to nearly 1.605 bln.

As of the end of September 2020, the 5G subscriber totals of China Mobile and China Telecom reached 113.59 mln and 64.80 mln, respectively, comprising 12.0% and 18.5% of their total mobile subscriber bases. China Unicom included 5G subscribers in its mobile subscriber total for the month, but did not break out a 5G subscriber figure.

China Mobile

China Mobile (NYSE: CHL; 0941.HK) reported a net increase of 0.28 mln mobile subscribers during the month of September, raising the telecom operator's total mobile user base to 946.18 mln. Of this total, 769.52 mln were 4G subscribers and 113.59 mln were 5G subscribers, representing net increases of 2.49 mln and 15.44 mln, respectively, compared to the previous month.

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 added 3.35 mln new fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) in September, increasing its total fixed-line broadband user base to 204.21 mln.

China Telecom

China Telecom (NYSE: CHA; 0728.HK) saw a net increase of 1.66 mln mobile subscribers in September, raising its total to 349.35 mln, of which 64.80 mln were 5G terminal users. During the month, the operator's 5G user base jumped by 7.66 mln subscribers. Starting from January 2020, to align with the company's mobile business development strategy, the company began disclosing 5G package subscriber figures, but stopped disclosing 4G subscriber figures.

China Telecom lost 0.27 mln fixed-line telephone subs in September, reducing its total to 108.35 mln.

China Telecom added 1.27 mln fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) during the month, boosting its total to 156.75 mln.

China Unicom

China Unicom (NYSE: CHU; 0762.HK; 600050.SH) reported a net gain of 0.51 mln mobile billing subscribers during the month of September, increasing its total mobile billing user base to 309.18 mln. Of the total, 266.45 mln were 4G subscribers, with a net addition of 2.47 mln LTE subs during the month. China Unicom did not reveal its 5G subscriber totals.

China Unicom lost 0.99 mln fixed-line telephone subscribers in September, dropping its total to 48.23 mln.

The operator gained 0.74 mln fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) in September, raising its total to 86.56 mln.

User Base Market Share by Operator

China Mobile's share of the nation's total mobile subscriber base as of the end of September 2020 fell further to 58.96%, down from 59.04% at the end of August 2020 and 58.98% at the end of September 2019. China Telecom's share grew to 21.77%, up from 21.70% at the end of August 2020 and 20.69% at the end of September 2019, and China Unicom's share rebounded slightly to 19.27%, compared to 19.26% at the end of August 2020, but still down from 20.33% at the end of September 2019.

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

Keywords: wireless China Telecom China Mobile China Unicom fixed-line broadband penetration telecom 4G market share mobile subscribers 5G broadband subscribers CHL 0728.HK 0762.HK 0941.HK 600050.SH CHA CHU fixed-line subscribers