China - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Last updated: 15 Jul 2020 Update History

Report Pages: 130

Analyst: Sebastien De Rosbo

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Summary
Table Of Contents

China aiming for one million 5G base stations by end-2020

The Chinese telecom market is the largest in the world in terms of subscribers. Market development has generally been driven by investments from government-allied entities and features a strongly guided industrial policy.

The continuing sector growth and transition from infrastructure and service provision to application creation and user demand stimulation has also driven the fast-developing data centre market.

The fixed-line sector continues to decline in the wake of subscriber migration to mobile platforms for voice and data services. This trend is expected to continue during the next five years, with an associated growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers.

The government is aiming to provide universal and affordable broadband coverage through market competition and private investment in state-controlled enterprises such as Broadband China and Internet Plus. As a result, fixed broadband penetration has grown steadily in recent years. The focus on fibre has meant that the number of fibre-based connections has grown particularly strongly, with the DSL and cable segments declining as subscribers migrate to fibre infrastructure.

The mobile market has recently been characterised by lower subscriber growth, though this is in line with higher penetration. Profit among the MNOs has also been affected, as competition has encouraged them to provide very cheap plans, both for LTE and now for 5G services. Given the requirements for continued investment in network expansion and upgrades, this pricing competition is unsustainable in the medium term.

By early 2020 the number of mobile subscribers had broached 1.6 billion however, growth is expected to be relatively slower due to a saturated and mature market over the next five years. Market growth will be characterised by the cannibalisation of platforms, with 3G and LTE subscribers migrating to 5G in response to considerable efforts by the government and MNOs to promote 5G both for end-users and for various industrial sectors.

BuddeComm notes that the outbreak of the Coronavirus in 2020 is having a significant impact on production and supply chains globally. During the coming year the telecoms sector to various degrees is likely to experience a downturn in mobile device production, while it may also be difficult for network operators to manage workflows when maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure. Overall progress towards 5G may be postponed or slowed down in some countries.

On the consumer side, spending on telecoms services and devices is under pressure from the financial effect of large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes. However, the crucial nature of telecom services, both for general communication as well as a tool for home-working, will offset such pressures. In many markets the net effect should be a steady though reduced increased in subscriber growth.

Although it is challenging to predict and interpret the long-term impacts of the crisis as it develops, these have been acknowledged in the industry forecasts contained in this report.

The report also covers the responses of the telecom operators as well as government agencies and regulators as they react to the crisis to ensure that citizens can continue to make optimum use of telecom services. This can be reflected in subsidy schemes and the promotion of tele-health and tele-education, among other solutions.

Key Developments

Chinese data centre market continues with rapid transition;
Fixed-line penetration seeing a steady fall;
Government strengthens IoT policies to boost economic growth;
China’s telcos make rapid progress with 5G network rollouts;
Report update includes telcos’ operating data to May 2020, CAICT industry data to April 2020, assessment of the global impact of COVID-19 on the telecoms sector, recent market developments.

Key companies mentioned in this report:

China Mobile; China Telecom; China Unicom, Alibaba, JD.com, Baidu, Tencent

Key statistics
Regional Asian Market Comparison
COVID-19 and its impact on the telecom sector

Economic considerations and responses
Mobile devices
Subscribers
Infrastructure

Telecommunications market

Market overview and analysis

Regulatory environment

Regulatory authority

Ministry of Information Industry (MII)
Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)
China Internet Network Information Centre

Government policies

Private investment in state-controlled industries
Broadband China

Fixed-line developments

Licensing
Interconnect
Universal Service Obligation (USO)

Mobile network developments

Licensing
Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
VAT
Roaming

Mobile market

Market overview and analysis
Mobile statistics
Mobile broadband
Mobile infrastructure

6G
5G
4G/LTE
3G
GSM
Other infrastructure developments

Major mobile operators

China Mobile
China Telecom
China Unicom
MVNOs

Mobile content and applications

Rich Communication Services (RCS)
m-banking (payments/loans)

Fixed-line broadband market

Market overview and analysis
Broadband statistics
Government broadband policy and plans
Fibre-to-the-Premises (FttP) networks

China Telecom
China Unicom
China Mobile

Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks

Fixed wireless

Digital economy

Introduction
e-Commerce

Fixed network operators

China Telecom
China Unicom
China Mobile
China Tower
CITIC Networks

Telecommunications infrastructure

Overview of the national telecom network
International infrastructure (satellite, submarine)

Terrestrial and submarine cable infrastructure
Satellite infrastructure

Data Centres
Smart infrastructure

IoT
Smart cities
Connected homes
Connected cars

Glossary of abbreviations
Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities – 2020 (e)
Table 2 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2010 – 2025
Table 3 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2010 – 2025
Table 4 – Growth in mobile broadband traffic – 2016 – 2019
Table 5 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers by operator - 2009 – 2020
Table 6 – Change in the market share of mobile subscribers by operator - 2009 – 2020
Table 7 – Annual growth in mobile subscriber base by operator - 2010 – 2019
Table 8 – Development of China Mobile’s financial data – 2009 – 2019
Table 9 – Development of China Mobile’s annualised ARPU – 2008 – 2019
Table 10 – Growth in the number of China Mobile’s mobile subscribers – 2008 – 2020
Table 11 – Growth in the number of China Telecom’s mobile subscribers by type – 2008 – 2020
Table 12 – Growth in the number of China Unicom’s mobile subscribers – 2014 – 2020
Table 13 – Development of China Unicom’s mobile ARPU – 2008 – 2019
Table 14 – Development of MVNO’s market share of subscribers – 2014 – 2018
Table 15 – Growth in the number of m-commerce users – 2016 – 2019
Table 16 – Growth in the proportion of internet access above 100Mb/s – 2017 – 2019
Table 17 – Growth in average fixed and mobile download speeds – 2016 – 2019
Table 18 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2010 – 2025
Table 19 – Growth in the number of FttP subscribers – 2012 – 2019
Table 20 – Growth in the number of China Telecom’s fixed and FttP broadband subscribers – 2010 – 2020
Table 21 – Growth in the number of China Unicom’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2008 – 2019
Table 22 – Growth in the number of China Mobile’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2015 – 2020
Table 23 – Development of China Telecom’s financial data – 2008 – 2019
Table 24 – China Telecom revenue by type – 2018 – 2019
Table 25 – Change in the number of China Telecom’s fixed-line and fixed broadband subscribers and ARPU – 2008 – 2020
Table 26 – Development of China Unicom’s financial data – 2008 – 2019
Table 27 – Change in the number of China Unicom’s fixed-line subscribers – 2008 – 2020
Table 28 – Decline in the number of fixed-lines in service and penetration – 2010 – 2025
Table 29 – Growth of international internet bandwidth – 2007 – 2018
Table 30 – Historic - Mobile subscribers and annual change – 1995 - 2008
Table 31 – Historic - China Telecom mobile ARPU – 2008 – 2017
Table 32 – Historic - China Unicom 2G and 3G/4G subscribers – 2002 – 2015
Table 33 – Historic - China Telecom - fixed broadband subscribers– 2003 – 2009
Table 34 – Historic - Broadband access ports, proportion of FttP ports – 2010 – 2016
Table 35 – Historic - China Telecom fixed broadband subscribers– 2003 – 2009

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Asian Telecoms Maturity Index by Market Category
Chart 2 – Asian Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per Capita
Chart 3 – Telecoms Maturity Index – Northern Asia
Chart 4 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2010 - 2025
Chart 5 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2010 – 2025
Chart 6 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers by operator - 2009 – 2020
Chart 7 – Change in the market share of mobile subscribers by operator - 2009 – 2020
Chart 8 – Development of China Mobile’s financial data – 2009 – 2019
Chart 9 – Development of China Mobile’s annualised ARPU – 2008 – 2019
Chart 10 – Growth in the number of China Mobile’s mobile subscribers – 2008 – 2020
Chart 11 – Growth in the number of China Telecom’s mobile by type – 2008 – 2020
Chart 12 – Growth in the number of China Unicom’s mobile subscribers – 2014 – 2020
Chart 13 – Development of China Unicom’s mobile ARPU – 2008 – 2019
Chart 14 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2010 – 2025
Chart 15 – Growth in the number of FttP subscribers – 2012 – 2019
Chart 16 – Growth in the number of China Unicom’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2008 – 2019
Chart 17 – Growth in the number of China Mobile’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2015 – 2020
Chart 18 – Development of China Telecom’s financial data – 2008 – 2019
Chart 19 – Change in the number of China Telecom’s fixed-line and fixed broadband subscribers – 2008 – 2020
Chart 20 – Change in the number of China Telecom’s fixed-line and fixed broadband subscribers – 2008 – 2020
Chart 21 – Change in the number of China Telecom’s fixed-line and fixed broadband subscribers – 2008 – 2020
Chart 22 – Decline in the number of fixed-lines in service and penetration – 2010 – 2025

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Key Market Characteristics by Market Segment
Exhibit 2 – Northern Asia - Key characteristics of telecoms markets by country
Exhibit 3 – Regional/international fibre optic cable networks
Exhibit 4 – Selected Chinese satellite service providers and satellites
Exhibit 5 – China Satcom satellite fleet

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China - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Purchase this Report

USD 1,150.00

China aiming for one million 5G base stations by end-2020

Key Developments

Key companies mentioned in this report:

Key statistics

Regional Asian Market Comparison

COVID-19 and its impact on the telecom sector

Telecommunications market

Regulatory environment

Mobile market

Fixed-line broadband market

Digital economy

Fixed network operators

Telecommunications infrastructure

Glossary of abbreviations

Related reports

Purchase this Report

USD 1,150.00

Share this Report

Purchase with Confidence

Research Methodology

Sample Reports

Research

Hot Topics

News & Views