China Mobile is the trade name of both China Mobile Limited, and its ultimate controlling shareholder, China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd., a Chinese state-owned telecommunications[4] company. It provides mobile voice and multimedia services through its nationwide mobile telecommunications network across mainland China and Hong Kong. China Mobile is the largest wireless carrier in China, with 945.50 million subscribers as of June 2021.[5] China Mobile was ranked #25 in Forbes' Global 2000 in 2023.[6]
China Mobile is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange as A-shares and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as H shares.[7] It is the world's largest mobile network operator by total number of subscribers,[8] and the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue.
As of 8 July 2025, China Mobile Limited's total market value stood at US$240 billion.[9]
History
Incorporated in 1997 as China Telecom (Hong Kong) Limited,[10] China Mobile was born from the 1999 break-up of China Telecommunications Corporation.[11] This company continues to provide mobile services, however.
In May 2008, the company took over China Tietong, a fixed-line telecom[12] and the then third-largest broadband Internet service provider in China[13] adding Internet services to its core business of mobile services.
In October 2014, Nokia and China Mobile signed a $970 million framework deal for delivery between 2014 and 2015.[14]
Ownership and control
A state-owned enterprise directly controlled by the government of the People's Republic of China[4] and also a public company which is listed on the NYSE and the Hong Kong stock exchanges,[7] China Mobile has dominated Chinese mobile services since its inception for civilian and military purposes. According to the United States Department of Defense, the company has links to the People's Liberation Army.[32] As of 2010, China Mobile controls the vast majority of its domestic mobile services market with a 70% market share. China Unicom and China Telecom have 20% and 10% shares, respectively.
The company likely enjoys substantial protectionist benefits from China's government[33] but also experiences frequent government intervention in its business affairs.
Finances
The key trends for China Mobile are (as of the financial year ending December 31):[37]
Services
Rural services
China Mobile was one of six state-owned companies that implemented the Connecting Every Village Project, which the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology began in 2004 to promote universal access to telecommunication and internet services in rural China.[39] The MIIT required that China Mobile and the other state-owned companies build the communications infrastructure and assist in financing the project.[39] As of, 135 million rural households had used broadband internet.[39] The program successfully extended internet infrastructure throughout rural China and promoted development of the internet.[39]
China Mobile has historically held a greater share of the rural market than competitors.[40]
Brands
Mainland China
Mobile services are available in Mainland China under several brands as of 2007.[48] As of 2013, the below brands are scheduled to be slowly phased out and replaced by an all-encompassing new brand name—And[49]—whose logo combines an exclamation point, the Chinese character for "peace", as well as the English word "and". ( Rough translation: "Global Connect"): subscription[50] flagship brand[51] ( Rough translation: "Dynamic Area"): a premium prepaid service popular with youths[51] ( Rough translation: "Travel across China"[50]
Network
China Mobile operates a GSM network,[55] which encompasses all 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and directly administered municipalities in mainland China and includes Hong Kong, too.[7] GPRS is utilized for data transmission.[56]
Marketed as "G3", the company controls 70% of the Chinese mobile market but a far smaller percentage of the 3G market. As of May 2012, its nearly 60 million 3G subscribers account for roughly 9% of its total subscriber base, which is an increase from 3% in 2010.[57]
Its 3G network, still under construction in 2010, utilizes the TD-SCDMA standard, which China Mobile helped develop. 3G service is available in all of the 4 direct-controlled municipalities and most of the 283 prefecture-level cities in China as of 2010.
Marketed as "and和", as of 2010, China Mobile has debuted small-scale 4G demonstration networks using a variant of
See also
- List of largest companies by revenue
- List of mobile network operators
- List of mobile network operators of the Americas
- List of mobile network operators of the Asia Pacific region
- List of mobile network operators of the Middle East and Africa
External links
References
- Annual Report 2022 China Mobile^
- Annual Report 2019 China Mobile Limited, 2020, retrieved 13 November 2020^
- China Mobile International. PeeringDB PeeringDB, retrieved October 7, 2022^