China's Three Main Telcos Report Q3 2026 Subscriber Totals
Marbridge Consulting, 10/29/26
The listed arms of China's three main telecom operators have announced their subscriber totals for the quarter ending September 30, 2026.
China Mobile
China Mobile (0941.HK; 600941.SH) reported a net gain of approximately 3.01 mln mobile subscribers during the quarter, raising the telecom operator's total mobile user base to just over 1.014 bln.
During Q3 2026, China Mobile's number of 5G network customers reached approximately 702.28 mln, representing net increases of 15.54 mln quarter-on-quarter and 60.28 mln since the end of 2025.
China Mobile's total number of integrated broadband network customers rose to 342.27 mln in Q3 2026, representing net increases of 5.35 mln quarter-on-quarter and 13.05 mln since the end of 2025. China Mobile defines its integrated broadband network as including household broadband, enterprise broadband, dedicated Internet lines and dedicated data lines.
China Mobile's total number of cellular IoT card connections dipped to 1.497 bln in Q3 2026, representing a net decrease of approximately 14.55 mln quarter-on-quarter, but a net increase of 15.03 mln since the end of 2025.
China Telecom
China Telecom (0728.HK; 601728.SH) saw its mobile subscriber base reach 445.27 mln in Q3 2026, representing net increases of 2.84 mln quarter-on-quarter and 6.62 mln since the end of 2025. Of this total, 330.39 mln were 5G network customers, representing net increases of 7.89 mln quarter-on-quarter and 28.58 mln since the end of 2025.
China Telecom reported its total number of fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) reached 201.49 mln during Q3 2026, representing net increases of 0.21 mln quarter-on-quarter and 0.37 mln since the end of 2025.
China Unicom
China Unicom (0762.HK; 600050.SH) reported that as of the end of Q3 2026, its aggregate number of "Connectivity" subscribers reached nearly 1.333 bln, up 22.17 mln quarter-on-quarter and 78.21 mln since the end of 2025. China Unicom's "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.
Among China Unicom's total Connectivity subscribers, 255.63 mln were 5G network customers, representing net increases of 7.13 mln quarter-on-quarter and 23.45 mln since the end of 2025; and 789.70 mln were Internet-of-things terminal connections, representing net increases of 17.09 mln quarter-on-quarter and 66.59 mln since the end of 2025.
China Unicom reported that its computing power business saw the number of major government and enterprise customers served by Unicom Cloud reach 0.56 mln by the end of Q3 2026, up 0.07 mln quarter-on-quarter; and the number of paying users for Unicom's Cloud-AI products reach 123.50 mln, up 7.01 mln quarter-on-quarter. Government and enterprise customers of Unicom Cloud include industry cloud customers, cloud integration customers, partner public cloud customers, and cloud market customers. China Unicom's Cloud-AI products include Unicom Cloud Drive, Cloud-AI handsets, Unicom Home Monitoring, and Unicom UHD (Ultra-High-Definition).
China Unicom also reported that the number of major institutional industry customers served by its security business reached over 0.48 mln by the end of Q3 2026, up approximately 4,000 quarter-on-quarter. China Unicom's security business includes secure leased line subscribers, Unicom Shield (primarily an anti-DDoS protection system and network monitoring solution) subscribers, Security Hub customers, and security project customers.
China Broadnet
China's fourth 5G telecom network operator, China Broadnet, has not yet reported its Q3 2026 mobile subscriber totals, but as of the end of Q2 2026, had a total 5G network customer base of nearly 44 mln, according to statistics released on the website of China's National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) on August 21, 2026. This figure represents a net increase of approximately 1 mln since the end of Q1 2026, and approximately 2 mln since the end of 2025.
Broadnet is a relatively new mobile network operator, having launched its first 5G network services in mid-2022, and is not yet reporting its 5G subscriber totals with the same degree of granularity or recency as China's three main telecom network operators (i.e. China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom).
China's 5G Network Customer Base - Share by Operator
As of the end of Q2 2026, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, and China Broadnet comprised roughly 53%, 25%, 19%, and 3% of China's total 5G network customer base.
Editor's Note: A 5G network customer is defined as a mobile customer who has used the 5G network in the given quarter. In contrast, a 5G package customer is a mobile customer who has simply subscribed to a 5G tariff plan (i.e. "5G network customers" is a subset of "5G package customers"). Starting from 2025, all three of China's basic telecom operators have been reporting 5G network customer totals, rather than 5G package customer totals.
Keywords: wireless national statistics China Telecom China Mobile China Unicom Internet broadband telecom mobile subscribers 5G broadband subscribers 0728.HK 0762.HK 0941.HK 600050.SH 601728.SH 600941.SH National Radio and Television Administration Broadnet cellular IoT
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