Marbridge Daily

China's Three Main Telcos Add 2.1 Mln Mobile Subs in December 2019

Marbridge Consulting, 1/20/20

The listed arms of China's three main telecom operators have announced their subscriber totals for the month of December 2019, including a combined net addition of roughly 2.12 mln mobile subscribers in China to reach a combined mobile subscriber base of over 1.604 bln. The December figure is roughly 62% lower than the average monthly net addition of mobile subs in the preceding 12 months (i.e. December 2018 to November 2019), which was approximately 5.61 mln, and 74% lower than the December 2018 net addition of 8.21 mln.

During the month of December 2019, China's three main operators reported a combined net addition of 6.41 mln 4G subscribers (the majority of which were simply existing 2G or 3G subs who upgraded to 4G) to reach a total combined 4G subscriber base of approximately 1.293 bln. 4G penetration among mobile subscribers hit approximately 80.6%.

China Mobile

China Mobile (NYSE: CHL; 0941.HK) reported a net addition of 3.73 mln new mobile subscribers, pushing the telecom operator's total mobile user base to 950.28 mln. Of the total, 758.01 mln subscribers used its 4G network during the month. China Mobile saw a net gain of 4.99 mln 4G subs in December.

December's figure for net addition of mobile subs was over 83% greater than China Mobile's average monthly net add of 2.04 mln during the preceding 12 months (December 2018 to November 2019) and over 26% greater than its 2.96 mln net add in December 2018.

China Mobile saw a net loss of 0.61 mln fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) in December, decreasing its total fixed-line broadband user base to 187.04 mln.

China Telecom

China Telecom (NYSE: CHA; 0728.HK) saw a net increase of 1.18 mln mobile subscribers in December, raising its total to 335.57 mln, of which 281.24 mln were 4G terminal users, with a net increase of 1.24 mln 4G terminal users in December.

China Telecom lost 0.46 mln fixed-line telephone subs in December, reducing its total to 110.85 mln.

China Telecom lost 0.62 mln fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) in December, dropping its total back to 153.13 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 December 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 2.788 mln mobile billing subscribers in December 2019, dropping its total mobile billing user base to 318.48 mln. Of the total, 253.77 mln were 4G subscribers, with a net addition of 0.19 mln LTE subs during the month.

December marked the eighth 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, -2.61 mln, and -0.86 mln in May, June, July, August, September, October, and November, respectively. In 2019, the operator added a net monthly average of just 0.29 mln new mobile subs, compared to a net monthly average of 2.57 mln in 2018.

Unicom attributed the continued drop in its mobile subscriber base to market saturation and keen market competition. Despite increased costs driven by the need to upgrade network speeds and reduce tariffs, and a diminishing 4G data bonus, the operator vowed to continue pursuing a strategy of differentiated and Internet-oriented operation, rigorously controlled customer acquisition cost and strengthened integrated offerings, striving to avoid simple price competition.

China Unicom lost approximately 30,000 fixed-line telephone subscribers in December, dropping its total to under 54.22 mln.

The operator lost 0.98 mln fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) in December, reducing its total to 83.48 mln.

User Base Market Share by Operator

China Mobile's share of the nation's total mobile subscriber base as of the end of December 2019 increased to 59.23%, compared to 59.08% at the end of November 2019 and 59.95% at the end of December 2018. China Telecom's share grew to 20.92%, up from 20.87% at the end of November 2019 and 19.64% at the end of December 2018, and China Unicom's share continued to slide to 19.85%, compared to 20.05% at the end of November 2019 and 20.42% at the end of December 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 market share mobile subscribers broadband subscribers CHL 0728.HK 0762.HK 0941.HK 600050.SH CHA CHU fixed-line subscribers