Marbridge Daily

China's Three Main Telcos Add 28 Mln 5G Subs in January 2022

Marbridge Consulting, 2/21/22

The listed arms of China's three main telecom operators have announced their subscriber totals for the month of January 2022, including a combined net increase of nearly 8.70 mln mobile subscribers in China, boosting their combined mobile subscriber base to over 1.655 bln. The three operators also continued to steadily migrate existing customers to 5G, adding a combined 28.30 mln 5G package subscribers during the month. As of the end of January, the three operators' combined 5G package subscriber base reached 757.84 mln, for a 5G penetration rate of 45.8%.

As of the end of January, 5G package subscribers accounted for 52.2%, 50.4%, and 41.7% of the total mobile subscriber bases of China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Mobile, respectively.

China Mobile

China Mobile (0941.HK; 600941.SH) reported a net gain of 4.50 mln mobile subscribers during the month, raising the telecom operator's total mobile user base to 961.39 mln. Of this total, 401.28 mln were 5G package customers, representing a net increase of 14.47 mln 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 saw a net gain of 3.84 mln fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) in January, raising its total fixed-line broadband user base to 243.95 mln.

China Telecom

China Telecom (0728.HK; 601728.SH) saw a net increase of 3.07 mln mobile subscribers in January, raising its total to 375.50 mln, of which 196.06 mln were 5G package subscribers. During the month, the operator's 5G package subscriber base rose by 8.26 mln subs.

China Telecom gained 0.23 mln fixed-line telephone subs in January, increasing its total to 106.87 mln.

China Telecom added 1.54 mln fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) during the month, increasing its total to 171.25 mln.

China Unicom

China Unicom (0762.HK; 600050.SH) reported a net gain of 1.13 mln mobile billing subscribers, increasing its total mobile billing user base to 318.25 mln. Of the total, 160.50 mln were 5G package subscribers, with a net addition of 5.57 mln 5G package subs during the month.

China Unicom gained 0.19 mln fixed-line telephone subscribers in January, raising its total to 47.39 mln.

The operator added 1.04 mln fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) in January, boosting its total to 96.08 mln.

User Base Market Share by Operator

China Mobile's share of the nation's total mobile subscriber base as of the end of January 2022 shrank further to 58.09%, compared to 58.12% at the end of December 2021 and 58.81% at the end of January 2021. China Telecom's share grew to 22.69%, up from 22.62% at the end of December 2021 and 22.04% at the end of January 2021, and China Unicom's share fell to 19.23%, down from 19.26% at the end of December 2021 but up from 19.15% at the end of January 2021.

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

Keywords: wireless national statistics China Telecom China Mobile China Unicom fixed-line broadband penetration market share mobile subscribers 5G broadband subscribers 0728.HK 0762.HK 0941.HK 600050.SH 601728.SH 600941.SH fixed-line subscribers