Marbridge Daily

China Telecom Outpaces China Mobile to Reach 20.5% 5G Penetration in October 2020

Marbridge Consulting, 11/20/20

The listed arms of China's three main telecom operators have announced their subscriber totals for the month of October 2020, including a combined net gain of roughly 0.83 mln mobile subscribers in China, boosting their combined mobile subscriber base to nearly 1.606 bln.

As of the end of October 2020, the 5G subscriber totals of China Mobile and China Telecom reached 128.79 mln and 71.86 mln, respectively, comprising 13.6% and 20.5% 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 0.16 mln mobile subscribers during the month of October, raising the telecom operator's total mobile user base to 946.34 mln. Of this total, 773.78 mln were 4G subscribers and 128.79 mln were 5G subscribers, representing net increases of 4.27 mln and 15.20 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 2.90 mln new fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) in October, increasing its total fixed-line broadband user base to 207.11 mln.

China Telecom

China Telecom (NYSE: CHA; 0728.HK) saw a net increase of 0.81 mln mobile subscribers in October, raising its total to 350.16 mln, of which 71.86 mln were 5G terminal users. During the month, the operator's 5G user base jumped by 7.06 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 0.16 mln fixed-line telephone subs in October, reducing its total to 108.19 mln.

China Telecom added 1.02 mln fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) during the month, boosting its total to 157.77 mln.

China Unicom

China Unicom (NYSE: CHU; 0762.HK; 600050.SH) reported a net decline of 0.15 mln mobile billing subscribers during the month of October, decreasing its total mobile billing user base to 309.03 mln. Of the total, 268.58 mln were 4G subscribers, with a net addition of 2.13 mln LTE subs during the month. China Unicom did not reveal its 5G subscriber totals.

China Unicom lost 0.82 mln fixed-line telephone subscribers in October, dropping its total to 47.42 mln.

The operator gained 0.52 mln fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) in October, raising its total to 87.08 mln.

User Base Market Share by Operator

China Mobile's share of the nation's total mobile subscriber base as of the end of October 2020 fell further to 58.94%, down from 58.96% at the end of September 2020 and 59.04% at the end of October 2019. China Telecom's share grew to 21.81%, up from 21.77% at the end of September 2020 and 20.81% at the end of October 2019, and China Unicom's share dropped slightly to 19.25%, compared to 19.27% at the end of September 2020 and 20.15% at the end of October 2019.

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

Keywords: national statistics 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