Marbridge Daily

China's Three Main Telcos Add 4 Mln Mobile Subs in November 2019

Marbridge Consulting, 12/20/19

The listed arms of China's three main telecom operators have announced their subscriber totals for the month of November 2019, including a combined net addition of roughly 3.96 mln mobile subscribers in China to reach a combined mobile subscriber base of over 1.602 bln. The November figure is roughly 33% lower than the average monthly net addition of mobile subs in the preceding 12 months (i.e. November 2018 to October 2019), which was approximately 5.87 mln, and 44% lower than the November 2018 net addition of 7.09 mln.

During the month of November 2019, China's three main operators reported a combined net addition of 7.72 mln 4G subscribers to reach a total combined 4G subscriber base of approximately 1.287 bln. 4G penetration among mobile subscribers hit approximately 80.3%.

China Mobile

China Mobile (NYSE: CHL; 0941.HK) reported a net addition of 2.96 mln new mobile subscribers, pushing the telecom operator's total mobile user base to 946.55 mln. Of the total, 753.03 mln subscribers used its 4G network during the month. China Mobile saw a net gain of 3.97 mln 4G subs in November.

November's figure for net addition of mobile subs was nearly 47% greater than the average monthly net add of 2.01 mln during the preceding 12 months (November 2018 to October 2019) and nearly 11% greater than the 2.67 mln net add in November 2018.

China Mobile added 0.69 mln new fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) in November, increasing its total fixed-line broadband user base to 187.65 mln.

China Telecom

China Telecom (NYSE: CHA; 0728.HK) saw a net increase of 1.86 mln mobile subscribers in November, raising its total to 334.39 mln, of which 280.00 mln were 4G terminal users, with a net increase of 1.93 mln 4G terminal users in November.

China Telecom lost 0.52 mln fixed-line telephone subs in November, reducing its total to 111.31 mln.

China Telecom gained 0.50 mln new fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) to reach 153.75 mln; if also including the fixed-line broadband subscribers of China Telecom's (i.e. China Telecom Corporation Limited's) parent company, China Telecommunications Corporation ("CTC"), as of the end of November 2019, the aggregate number of fixed-line broadband subscribers of China Telecom and CTC was 180 mln.

China Unicom

China Unicom (NYSE: CHU; 0762.HK; 600050.SH) reported a net loss of 0.86 mln mobile billing subscribers in November 2019, dropping its total mobile billing user base to 321.26 mln. Of the total, 253.58 mln were 4G subscribers, with a net addition of 1.83 mln LTE subs during the month.

November marked the seventh consecutive month in which Unicom posted a net addition of fewer than 200,000 mobile subs, following net additions of just 57,000, 24,000, 109,000, 184,000, 83,000, and -2.61 mln in May, June, July, August, September, and October, respectively. In the first 11 months of 2019, the operator has added a net monthly average of just 0.57 mln new mobile subs, compared to a net monthly average of 2.62 mln during the same 11-month period of 2018.

China Unicom lost 0.01 mln fixed-line telephone subscribers in November, dropping its total to 54.22 mln.

The operator lost 0.10 mln fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) in November, reducing its total to 84.45 mln.

User Base Market Share by Operator

China Mobile's share of the nation's total mobile subscriber base as of the end of November 2019 increased to 59.08%, compared to 59.04% at the end of October 2019 and 60.08% at the end of November 2018. China Telecom's share grew to 20.87%, up from 20.81% at the end of October 2019 and 19.53% at the end of November 2018, and China Unicom's share continued to slide to 20.05%, compared to 20.15% at the end of October 2019 and 20.39% at the end of November 2018.

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 mobile subscribers broadband subscribers CHL 0728.HK 0762.HK 0941.HK 600050.SH CHA CHU fixed-line subscribers