China Unicom adds 3.3 million 5G subscribers in December

China Unicom added over 42 million subscribers in the 5G segment during 2022

China Unicom added a total of 3.27 million 5G subscribers during December, the telco said on its website.

The carrier also said it ended last year with 212.7 million 5G subscribers. China Unicom added over 42 million subscribers in the 5G segment during 2022.

China Unicom’s overall mobile subscriber base at the end of December amounted to 861.7 million.

According to previous press reports, China Unicom recently obtained the approval from the Chinese government 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.

Chinese operators added a total of 29.6 million subscribers in the 5G segment during the last month of last year.

China Mobile, the world’s largest operator in terms of subscribers, added a total of 18.6 million 5G subscribers during December. The carrier also said it ended last year with 614 million 5G subscribers. China Mobile added a total of 227.2 million subscribers in the 5G segment during 2022.

Meanwhile, China Telecom added 5 million 5G subscribers last month to take its total 5G subscribers base to 267.9 million. During 2022, the telco added a total of 80.16 million 5G subscribers.

Chinese operators had deployed a total of 2.29 million 5G base stations nationwide as of the end of November, local state news agency Xinhua reported, citing data from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

This figure represents an increase of 862,000 compared to the end of 2021 and accounts for 21.1% of all mobile base stations in the country.

The Chinese government also revealed that the number of cities in China with the capability to offer gigabit 5G and optical fiber services reached 110 by the end of October 2022.

In these cities, over 80% of the large public hospitals, key universities, major cultural and tourist sites, airports, and key roads have access to 5G network.

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

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 in 2022.

According to previous reports, China Broadnet will use 5G infrastructure owned by China Mobile.