5G Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

The number of 5G mobile subscribers in China exceeded 1 billion at the end of November, official data showed on Monday.

In total, there are 1.002 billion 5G mobile subscribers in the country, accounting for 56 percent of the total number of mobile users, who are customers of China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom and China Broadnet.

China's total number of mobile subscribers stood at 1.79 billion at the end of November, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said.

"[Surpassing] 1 billion is a milestone achievement that signifies China's remarkable progress in the popularization and application of 5G technology. It not only reflects the rapid construction and optimization of China's communications infrastructure, but also the high level of consumer recognition and acceptance of 5G technology," Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday.

Globally, the rapid growth of China's 5G subscriber scale also highlights the country's leading position and strong momentum in the 5G field, Wang noted.

By the end of November, the total number of 5G base stations reached 4.191 million, up by 815,000 compared to the end of the prior year, accounting for 33.2 percent of the total number of mobile base stations, according to the MIIT.

Wang noted that the wide application of 5G technology will greatly promote digital transformation and industrial upgrading, injecting new momentum into the country's economic and social development.

Data also revealed that the number of fixed broadband subscribers reported by China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom, the country's three major telecom operators, reached 670 million at the end of November, with gigabit broadband users accounting for 31.2 percent of the total, marking a 5.5 percentage point increase compared to the end of the prior year.

In the first 11 months, the cumulative revenue from the telecommunications sector totaled 1.59 trillion yuan ($217.85 billion), marking a 2.6-percent year-on-year growth.

From January to November, the three major telecom operators generated 395.2 billion yuan in revenue from a broad range of emerging businesses, including IPTV, internet data centers, big data, cloud computing and the Internet of Things, representing a year-on-year increase of 7.9 percent, accounting for 24.8 percent of the revenues from telecommunications services.

Revenues of cloud computing rose by 6.8 percent while that of big data jumped 60.7 percent year-on-year, according to the MIIT.

"The rapid growth of revenue in emerging telecom business reflected the achievements of China's telecom industry in digital transformation and industrial upgrading. These businesses not only bring new sources of revenue and profit growth for telecom companies, but also promote the innovation and development of the entire industry," Wang said.

With the continuous development and application of 5G, artificial intelligence, big data and other technologies, emerging telecom business will usher in a broader development space and opportunities, the expert noted.

Global Times