China’s three largest wireless operators continued to attract users, with all three operators adding more than 12.1 million new customers combined during November and just edging out monthly growth posted for October.
China Mobile (CHL), which remains the world’s largest wireless carrier, led the way with 5.4 million net customer additions for the month. The carrier ended November with 644.3 million total customers, including just over 48 million using the 3G version of its TD-SDCMA technology. China Mobile’s monthly growth was just ahead of the 5.3 million the carrier added in October.
China Unicom (CHU) managed to add nearly 3.6 million new customers during November to its GSM/UMTS-based network, including 3.4 million to its 3G-based offering. The growth surpassed the 3.3 million customers added in October and included a greater percentage of customers signing up to its 3G offering. The carrier ended the month with nearly 196 million total customers, with just over 36.5 million using 3G devices.
China Telecom (CHA) continued to stick close to its larger rivals in November, adding 3.1 million new customers, including 2.2 million subscribers to its CDMA-based 3G service. However, unlike its larger rivals, China Telecom saw its monthly growth drop from October when it added 3.3 million net customers to its network. China Telecom ended the month with 123.4 million customers on its network, including 33.4 million signed up to its 3G offering.
The country’s total wireless customer base stood at 963.7 million, with current growth rates set to push that number past 1 billion in early 2012. By comparison, India recently reported that its GSM-based operators added 6.7 million new customers in November, pushing the country’s GSM subscriber base to 632.1 million customers.
Bored? Why not follow me on Twitter?
