- Public data from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that the proportion of 5G network users in China reached 50% at the end of February 2024.
- Yicai, China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom are shifting their investment focus from 5G to cloud computing and AI.
China’s three major telecommunications companies China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom announced plans to target cloud computing power and artificial intelligence (AI).
5G technology in China
According to public data from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the proportion of 5G network users in China reached 50% at the end of February 2024.
The total number of 5G mobile phone subscribers for the three major telcos plus China’s broadcasters reached 850 million, accounting for nearly 50% of overall mobile phone subscribers.
The number of 5G base stations reached 3.51 million. This represents nearly 30% of the total number of base stations.
Also read: China’s 5G market will add US$260 billion to GDP by 2030
From 5G to the computing network
China Mobile, which has the largest amount of users, stated that its 5G investment peaked in 2023.
Chairman Yang Jie has repeatedly said that China Mobile’s 5G infrastructure will reach its highest level between 2020 and 2022, with capex peaking in 2022 but declining by 3 % to 180.3 billion yuan in 2023.
China Mobile expects its capital expenditure to decrease by 4% in 2024. However, investments in artificial intelligence and cloud computing will grow by 20% to 47.5 billion yuan.
China Unicom, the smallest of the three major telecoms companies, also said that with the gradual improvement of 5G network coverage, investment will shift from network communication services to computing networks.
