China adds almost 25 million 5G subscribers in October

China had a total of 2.22 million 5G base stations across the country as of the end of Q3

Chinese operators recorded a net gain of 24.75 million 5G subscribers in October, according to the operators’ latest available statistics.

China Mobile, the world’s largest operator in terms of subscribers, added a total of 14.7 million 5G subscribers during October. The carrier said it ended last month with 571.5 million 5G subscribers.

China Mobile has added a total of 184.7 million subscribers in the 5G segment since the beginning of the year.

China Mobile’s overall mobile subscriber base at the end of October amounted to 973.2 million, after a decline of 786,000 subscribers during the month. During the first ten months of the year, China Mobile added a total of 16.3 million.

Meanwhile, China Telecom added 5.88 million 5G subscribers last month to take its total 5G subscribers base to 256.9 million. Since the beginning of the year, the telco has added a total of 69.12 million 5G subscribers.

China Telecom’s overall mobile base amounted to 390.5 million subscribers at the end of last month, after adding 590,000 customers during October.

Rival operator China Unicom said it added a total of 4.17 million 5G subscribers during last month. The carrier ended October with 205 million 5G subscribers.

According to recent press reports, China Unicom had recently obtained the approval from the MIIT to re-farm its 904-915 MHz and 949-960 MHz frequencies, currently used for 2G, 3G and 4G. The carrier said it will use the 900 MHz spectrum to expand 5G coverage in rural China and to expand 5G in industrial settings.

Meanwhile China Broadnet, the country’s new telecom carrier, recently reached nationwide coverage with its 5G network. China Broadnet had officially launched 5G services in June.

The operator already supplies cable services and became the country’s fourth operator when formally inaugurated in 2020, having previously acquired a license for commercial 5G services in 2019. The carrier was initially known as China Broadcasting Network before rebranding earlier this year.

According to previous reports, China Broadnet will use 5G infrastructure owned by China Mobile. Last year, China Broadnet and China Mobile said they aim to initially deploy 400,000 5G base stations as part of the companies’ efforts to launch a shared 5G network.

China ended September with a total of 2.22 million 5G base stations across the country, according to recent press reports. The figure represents a net increase of 795,000 5G base stations from the end of 2021.