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China Telecoms Market Report

Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

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Publication Date: July 2026

Report Pages: 179

China’s 5G networks accounting for almost two-thirds of all mobile connections

Supported by a population of more than 1.4 billion people, China has the world's largest telecom markets for fixed-line telephony, broadband, and mobile services in terms of the total number of subscribers. Penetration rates for broadband and mobile services are relatively high, resulting from strong growth in these sectors in recent years as end-users respond positively to improved network access and capacity resulting from continuing investment undertaken by the three state-sponsored telcos.

These three integrated telcos are China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom. Together they offer a semblance of competition across the vast market. Subscribers are free to switch between providers, and measures such as number portability have facilitated this considerably, particularly in the mobile market since about 2020. Customer churn has also encouraged the three to focus on the customer experience in a bid to retain subscribers. To this end they have not only increased data rates and network capacity, but have also made available a range of A1-enhanced features which permeate customer interactions with the telcos themselves as also with integrated service offerings and payment systems.

Yet the country’s telecoms sector is perhaps best characterised by the dominant role played by the central government in planning where to invest in infrastructure as well as in research to keep China at the forefront of the industry. Despite the challenges in Western markets faced by China’s major telecom equipment manufacturers (including Huawei and ZTE) as well as the offshore subsidiaries of its telcos, China was among the first countries globally to begin working on the development of 6G. Such early starts are commonly undertaken in a bid to influence standardisation by bodies such as the ITU, though in China’s case the interest is as much in redressing the West’s dominance in the process, and putting itself to the fore. China is thus at the forefront in upcoming developments concerned with 6G, AI, mobile-to-satellite connectivity, and similar.

China has relaxed rules relating to foreign involvement in value-added telecom services, at least in four designated areas in Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan and Shenzhen. Foreign investors are allowed to operate wholly-owned businesses in sectors such as data centres and cloud computing services. The involvement of foreign firms can provide Chinese consumers with a more diverse range of telecom services and products.

Key Developments

  • China records to 1.18 billion 5G subscribers by October 2025 accounting for 64.7% of all mobile phone users.
  • MIIT continuing to promote projects on 6G innovation and development.
  • China Mobile joins China Telecom and China Unicom with a license to operate satellite mobile phone services.
  • MIIT expands opening-up foreign involvement in value-added telecom services in four areas of Beijing, Shanghai, Hainan and Shenzhen.
  • two-year trial for satellite IoT services is launched.
  • Report update includes telcos’ operating data to September 2025, CAICT industry data updates to October 2025, CNNIC's 54th statistical report, updated Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.

Key companies mentioned in this report:

China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, China Broadcasting Network, China Tower, CITIC Networks, GalaxySpace. China Satcom, China Direct Broadcast Satellite, Guowang Constellation

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