China Telecom noted that the penetration of 5G in its overall mobile base had reached 66.9% as of the end of the third quarter
In sum – what to know:
Steady revenue and profit growth – Operating revenue hit CNY397 billion (up 0.6%), while net profit rose 5% to CNY30.8 billion, reflecting stable expansion amid a competitive market.
5G penetration deepens – 5G users climbed to 292.4 million, accounting for 66.9% of the mobile base, showing continued adoption of next-generation services.
AI-driven transformation focus – China Telecom will advance its “AI+” and “Cloudification” strategies to boost digital infrastructure and industrial digitalization across sectors.
China Telecom recorded operating revenues of CNY397 billion ($55.7 billion) in the first nine months of the year, surging 0.6% compared to the same period the previous year, the telco said in its earnings statement.
The Chinese carrier noted that service revenues amounted to CNY366.3, up 0.9% year-on-year.
The company’s net profit surged 5% year-on-year to CNY30.8 billion. The telco also noted its Ebitda for the period was CNY115.6 billion, up by 4.2% year-on-year.
The telco ended September with a total of 292.4 million 5G subscribers after a net addition of 41.7 million 5G customers during the period. In the mobile segment, the telco reached a total of 437.2 million subscribers at the end of September 2025.
China Telecom noted that the penetration of 5G in its overall mobile base had reached 66.9% as of the end of the third quarter.
As at 30 September 2025, the telco’s total number of wireline broadband customers reached 200.5 million, up from 196.6 million in September 2024.
“Going forward, the company will comprehensively implement the ‘Cloudification, Digital Transformation and AI for Good Strategy,’ and strengthen the innovation-driven integrated development of the dual engines of fundamental businesses and Industrial Digitalization business. It will deeply promote the “AI+” initiative and accelerate the intelligent evolution and upgrade of digital information infrastructure, allowing the dividends of intelligence to better benefit thousands of industries and households,” China Telecom said.
Earlier this year, China Telecom and Huawei had launched a new 5G-Advanced (5G-A) technology called Intelligent Ultra Pooling Uplink at MWC Shanghai 2025.
The vendor noted that the new technology helps improve how fast and efficiently devices send data back to the network — something especially important for smart wearables, connected cars (V2X) and AI assistants.
China Telecom and Huawei said this new technology is key to helping 5G-A support the needs of mobile AI. It allows networks to handle multiple types of AI-powered tasks while ensuring they run fast and smoothly.
Huang Lilian, a senior leader from China Telecom, said the combination of AI and 5G-A is changing the way people and machines communicate. It’s no longer just about sending information but also enabling emotional and interactive experiences. Huang believes multi-modal communication — combining video, audio and text — will become the new standard.
