China Mobile, the world’s largest mobile carrier by subscriber count, plans a massive expansion of its 5G infrastructure this year. The operator aims to install 340,000 new 5G base stations in 2025, pushing its total to almost 2.8 million. These efforts reflect China’s overarching goal of over 4.5 million base stations by 2025, supported by strategic policy and financial initiatives.
This expansion comes amid robust subscriber growth. As of the end of 2024, China Mobile’s mobile subscriber base exceeded one billion, up from 991 million the previous year. Notably, its 5G customer base surged by 18.7% to 552 million subscribers, making up 55% of its total mobile users. However, the average revenue per user declined slightly to CNY49.30 ($6.80), though data usage held steady at 15.9GB per month.
Financially, China Mobile reported a 5% hike in net profit, reaching CNY138.4 billion, and operating revenue rose to CNY1 trillion. The company’s revenue streams are diversified into four segments: mobile, home broadband, enterprise, and new business. The mobile revenue faced a slight dip, but home broadband and enterprise services expanded significantly, accompanied by a notable rise in new business revenue.
The organization recently implemented 5G-Advanced technology in numerous Chinese cities. By the end of 2024, China Mobile established over 2.4 million 5G base stations and built the first large-scale commercial 5G-A network. This extensive network now provides RedCap coverage nationwide while delivering gigabit broadband to 480 million households.
Building on this foundational work, China Mobile and China’s government are committed to advancing telecommunication capabilities further. The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has underscored the importance of a 5G revolution, announcing plans to trial 10-gigabit optical networks and enhance the country’s computing power infrastructure. This aligns with the growing demand for artificial intelligence technologies.
