Marbridge Daily

5G User Base of China's Three Main Telcos Exceeds 421 Mln in April 2021

Marbridge Consulting, 5/21/21

The listed arms of China's three main telecom operators have announced their subscriber totals for the month of April 2021, including a combined net increase of over 3.9 mln mobile subscribers in China, boosting their combined mobile subscriber base to just over 1.609 bln.

As of the end of April 2021, the 5G subscriber totals of China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom reached 205.30 mln, 117.77 mln, and 98.57 mln, respectively, comprising 21.8%, 32.9%, and 31.8% of their total mobile subscriber bases.

China Mobile

China Mobile (0941.HK) reported a net gain of 2.17 mln mobile subscribers during the month of April, increasing the telecom operator's total mobile user base to 941.76 mln. Of this total, 790.84 mln were 4G subscribers and 205.30 mln were 5G subscribers, representing net increases of 2.51 mln and 16.54 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 1.84 mln new fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) in April, increasing its total fixed-line broadband user base to 220.25 mln.

China Telecom

China Telecom (0728.HK) saw a net increase of 1.57 mln mobile subscribers in April, raising its total to 357.82 mln, of which 117.77 mln were 5G package subscribers. During the month, the operator's 5G user base rose by 6.54 mln subscribers.

China Telecom lost 0.19 mln fixed-line telephone subs in April, reducing its total to 107.34.

China Telecom added 0.65 mln fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) during the month, increasing its total to 162.20 mln.

China Unicom

China Unicom (0762.HK; 600050.SH) reported a net gain of 0.19 mln mobile billing subscribers during the month of April, increasing its total mobile billing user base to 309.48 mln. Of the total, 98.57 mln were 5G subscribers, up by 6.71 mln compared to the end of the prior month.

China Unicom lost 0.03 mln fixed-line telephone subscribers in April, dropping its total to 47.24 mln.

The operator added 0.71 mln fixed-line broadband subscribers (registered accounts) in April, lifting its total to 88.83 mln.

User Base Market Share by Operator

China Mobile's share of the nation's total mobile subscriber base as of the end of April 2021 shrank further to 58.53%, compared to 58.54% at the end of March 2021 and 59.37% at the end of April 2020. China Telecom's share grew to 22.24%, up from 22.19% at the end of March 2021 and 21.23% at the end of April 2020, and China Unicom's share fell to 19.23%, down from 19.27% at the end of March 2021 and 19.40% at the end of April 2020.

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

Keywords: China Telecom China Mobile China Unicom fixed-line broadband telecom 4G market share mobile subscribers 5G broadband subscribers 0728.HK 0762.HK 0941.HK 600050.SH fixed-line subscribers