Operators in China recorded a net gain of 59.17 million 5G subscribers in March
China ended the first quarter of the year with a total of 2.64 million base stations nationwide, local press reported, citing Zhao Zhiguo, a spokesperson at the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
Zhao noted that China’s information communication industry saw stable growth in the first quarter of this year as revenue in the sector – including internet data centers, cloud computing and the internet of things – grew by 24.5% year-on-year.
China’s telecommunications revenue reached CNY 425.2 billion ($61.6bn) in the first quarter, up 7.7% year-on-year, said Zhao.
According to the report, the MIIT also said it aims to achieve breakthroughs in key technologies for 6G, optical communication and quantum communication, as well as enhancing the research and development of new areas including artificial intelligence and block chain.
In addition, MIIT will expand the 5G and broadband networks to support industry digitalization.
According to a recent GSMA report, dubbed “The Mobile Economy China 2023”,5G technology will add $290 billion to the Chinese economy in 2030, with benefits spread across industries.
“Mainland China is the largest 5G market in the world, accounting for more than 60% of global 5G connections at the end of 2022. With strong takeup of 5G among consumers, the focus of operators is now increasingly shifting to 5G for enterprises. This offers opportunities to grow revenues beyond connectivity in adjacent areas such as cloud services – a segment where operators in China have recently made significant progress,” the GSMA report reads.
5G will overtake 4G in 2024 to become the dominant mobile technology in China, according to the report. “4G and 5G dominance in China means legacy networks are now being phased out. While most users have been migrated to 4G and 5G, legacy networks continue to support various IoT services. However, some estimates suggest that legacy networks could be almost entirely shut down in China by 2025,” the study reads.
Chinese operators recorded a net gain of 59.17 million 5G subscribers in March, according to the operators’ latest available statistics.
China Mobile, the world’s largest operator in terms of subscribers, added a total of 50.1 million 5G subscribers during March. The carrier said it ended last month with 689.2 million 5G subscribers. China Mobile added a total of 227.2 million subscribers in the 5G segment during 2022.
Meanwhile, China Telecom added 5.03 million 5G subscribers last month to take its total 5G subscribers base to 283.21 million. During 2022, the telco added a total of 80.16 million 5G subscribers.
Rival operator China Unicom said it added a total of 4.04 million 5G subscribers during last month. The carrier ended March with 223.8 million 5G subscribers. China Unicom added over 42 million subscribers in the 5G segment during 2022.
