The most recent data available from Chinese carriers show a net gain of 31.4 million 5G users in September. The largest operator in the world by the number of subscribers, China Mobile, attracted 18 million new 5G customers in September. The company reported having 556.8 million 5G subscribers at the end of the month.
170 Million New 5G Subscribers Have Joined China Mobile Ever Since Year’s Start
At the end of September, China Mobile had 974.04 million total mobile users, an increase of 798,000 net subscribers over the previous month. In the 5G market, China Mobile has added a total of 170 million users since the year's commencement. Competitor China Unicom reported gaining 6 million new 5G subscribers in total last month. The company had 200.83 million 5G subscribers at the end of September.
China Telecom, however, increased its base of 5G subscribers by 7.44 million last month, bringing it to 251 million. The telco has increased its 5G subscriber base by a total of 63.24 million since the year's commencement. At the end of the previous month, China Telecom had 389.9 million total mobile subscribers, up 1.89 million from the previous month. As per current information from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and data from Chinese operators, more than 1.97 million 5G network nodes have already been installed across the nation.
China Mobile, the largest operator in the world by the number of subscribers, recently announced that in the first half of the year, it invested a total of CNY58.7 billion (approximately $8.1 billion) in the 5G market. China Telecom announced that it would deploy 120,000 more 5G base stations in the second half of the year, bringing the total to 990,000. China Telecom added 180,000 5G cell towers in the first half, bringing the total to 870,000 with network partner China Unicom.
The nation's newest telecom provider, China Broadnet, recently expanded its 5G network to encompass the entire country. In June, China Broadnet formally introduced its 5G services. After getting a permit for commercial 5G services in 2019, the operator, who currently offers cable services, officially launched as the fourth operator in the nation in 2020. The company changed its name earlier this year from China Broadcasting Network.
