Marbridge Daily

China's Three Main Telcos Lose 3 Mln Mobile Subs in December 2020

Marbridge Consulting, 1/22/21

The listed arms of China's three main telecom operators have announced their subscriber totals for the month of December 2020, including a combined net loss of nearly 2.9 mln mobile subscribers in China, dropping their combined mobile subscriber base below 1.599 bln.

As of the end of December 2020, the 5G subscriber totals of China Mobile and China Telecom reached 165.00 mln and 86.50 mln, respectively, comprising 17.5% and 24.6% 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 decline of 1.79 mln mobile subscribers during the month of December, dropping the telecom operator's total mobile user base to 941.92 mln. Of this total, 775.31 mln were 4G subscribers and 165.00 mln were 5G subscribers, representing net increases of 1.70 mln and 17.62 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 1.11 mln new fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) in December, increasing its total fixed-line broadband user base to 210.32 mln.

China Telecom

China Telecom (NYSE: CHA; 0728.HK) saw a net increase of 0.19 mln mobile subscribers in December, raising its total to 351.02 mln, of which 86.50 mln were 5G terminal users. During the month, the operator's 5G user base jumped by 7.02 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 0.09 mln fixed-line telephone subs in December, reducing its total to 107.88 mln.

China Telecom added 0.37 mln fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) during the month, nudging its total up to 158.53 mln.

China Unicom

China Unicom (NYSE: CHU; 0762.HK; 600050.SH) reported a net decline of 1.28 mln mobile billing subscribers during the month of December, decreasing its total mobile billing user base to 305.81 mln. Of the total, 270.18 mln were 4G subscribers, with a net addition of 1.12 mln LTE subs during the month. China Unicom did not reveal its 5G subscriber totals.

China Unicom lost 0.02 mln fixed-line telephone subscribers in December, dropping its total to 47.34 mln.

The operator lost 0.34 mln fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) in December, reducing its total to 86.10 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 2020 remained flat at 58.92% compared to the end of November 2020 and 59.23% at the end of December 2019. China Telecom's share grew to 21.96%, up from 21.90% at the end of November 2020 and 20.92% at the end of December 2019, and China Unicom's share dropped to 19.13%, compared to 19.17% at the end of November 2020 and 19.85% at the end of December 2019.

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

Keywords: national statistics China Telecom China Mobile China Unicom fixed-line broadband telecom 4G mobile subscribers 5G broadband subscribers CHL 0728.HK 0762.HK 0941.HK 600050.SH CHA CHU fixed-line subscribers