China
China’s mobile data consumption slumps; Apple’s market share shrinks-no longer among top 5 vendors
Mobile data demand is in a steep decline in China, the world’s largest 5G market by subscribers. China’s MIIT numbers released this week show per user data consumption (DOU) grew just 8.1% in the first half of the year. That compares to a 68% increase in 2019, the year that 5G licenses were issued. That fell to 13% in 2022 and 11% at end- 2023. Since then, there’s been a decrease in growth of nearly three percentage points in six months.
| Indicator name | unit | Cumulative from January to June | Year-on-year
Growth ( %) |
| Total volume of telecommunication business (at constant prices of the previous year) | 100 million yuan | 8992 | 11.1 |
| Operating income | 100 million yuan | 10712 | 2.8 |
| Including: Telecommunication business income | 100 million yuan | 8941 | 3.0 |
| Total call duration of fixed-line outgoing calls | 100 million minutes | 380 | -3.4 |
| Total mobile phone call duration | 100 million minutes | 10688 | -4.6 |
| Mobile SMS traffic | 100 million | 9407 | 0.5 |
| Mobile Internet access traffic | 100 million GB | 1604 | 12.6 |
| Average mobile Internet access traffic per household in the month (DOU) | GB/household · month | 18.15 | 8.1 |
| Note: 1. The duration of fixed-line outgoing calls and mobile phone calls includes the corresponding IP phone call duration.
2. Starting from February 2024, the 5G mobile Internet access traffic and the number of 5G mobile Internet users of China Radio and Television Network Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as China Radio and Television) will be included in the industry summary data, and the data for the same period last year will be adjusted synchronously. |
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“While China has rapidly rolled out 5G and continues to perform well vs other markets, there is a limit to the number of people in the market that will engage in advanced data services; the slowdown in traffic growth is an indication that we could be reaching that limit,” according to GSMA.
Commercial 5G standalone (SA) networks, now present in seven APAC countries (Australia, India, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand), will help fuel this growth, alongside 5G Advanced, RedCap and AI, creating opportunities to launch new 5G applications and kick start a fresh round in 5G investments for enterprises and consumers.
The authors of the report, GSMA Intelligence, expect 5G to add almost $130 billion to the Asia Pacific economy in 2030, with the manufacturing industry forecast to benefit the most, driven by new 5G-enabed applications including smart factories, smart-grids, and IoT-enabled products. Financial services and public administration are also expected to be big beneficiaries, as they turn to 5G to digitally transform services and operations. To help support this growth the GSMA today launched the GSMA APAC Fintech Forum, a new community programme to unite the connected fintech and commerce sectors with Asia Pacific’s mobile network operators through new technologies.
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Meanwhile, Apple’s smartphone market share in China shrank by two percentage points in the second quarter of 2024 and the company is no longer one of the top vendors, according to data from market research firm Canalys. The decline underscores the difficulties the U.S. tech giant faces in its third-largest market.
Huawei’s smartphone shipments surged 41 per cent year on year in the the quarter, bolstered by the launch of its new Pura 70 series in April. Chinese smartphone vendors held the top five spots in the second quarter.
“It is the first quarter in history that domestic vendors dominate all the top five positions,” said Canalys Research Analyst Lucas Zhong. “Chinese vendors’ strategies for high-end products and their deep collaboration with local supply chains are starting to pay off in hardware and software features. HONOR’s latest Magic V3, which leverages GenAI, has significantly enhanced the user experience of foldable devices. Conversely, Apple is facing a bottleneck in mainland China. The vendor’s current channel strategy maintains a healthy inventory level and aims to stabilize retail prices and protect margins of channel partners. In the long term, the Chinese high-end market is ripe with opportunity. Local brands such as Huawei, HONOR, OPPO, and vivo are leading the way by incorporating technologies such as GenAI into products and services. Additionally, the localization of Apple’s Intelligence services in mainland China will be crucial in the next 12 months.”
References:
https://www.miit.gov.cn/gxsj/tjfx/txy/art/2024/art_e2f06366bb134479a40cf4cf86445b1e.html
https://canalys.com/newsroom/china-smartphone-market-Q2-2024
https://www.lightreading.com/5g/slowing-mobile-numbers-cast-doubt-on-gsma-s-buoyant-forecasts
GSMA: China’s 5G market set to top 1 billion this year
MIIT: China’s Big 3 telcos add 24.82M 5G “package subscribers” in December 2023
Chinese engineers field test a “6G” network with semantic communications on 4G infrastructure
According to the Xinhua news agency, Chinese telecom engineers have established the world’s first field test network for 6G communication and intelligent integration. That’s before 6G is even defined let alone specified by ITU-R WP5D or 3GPP Release 21. The experimental network has demonstrated that semantic communication [1.] can reach the transmission capabilities of 6G on existing 4G infrastructure.
Note 1. Semantic communication aims at the successful transmission of information conveyed by the source rather than the accurate reception of each single symbol or bit regardless of its meaning.
The network has achieved a remarkable tenfold improvement in key communication metrics, including capacity, coverage and efficiency, according to a team from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications who unveiled their work at a seminar on July 10th. The network serves as a platform which facilitates the efforts of research institutions in conducting theoretical research and initial verification of 6G pivotal technologies. It can effectively lower the entry threshold for 6G research, making it more accessible for innovation, according to the team.
“The integration of the two will accelerate the formation of new business forms of the digital economy,” Professor Zhang Ping, who heads the university’s research team, reportedly said at the conference where the 6G field test network was unveiled. “AI will improve the perception and semantic understanding of communication, while the ubiquitous communication of 6G will in turn extend the reach of artificial intelligence to all corners of all fields,” Zhang was quoted as saying.
Existing 4G and 5G infrastructure has potential to ramp up to 6G, according to the results of a test network. Photo: Shutterstock
China is working to commercialize 6G, the next-generation wireless technology after 5G, by around 2030, the same time at which 6G standards are expected to be completed. The ITU-R says 6G could promote the growth of a range of advances, allowing communication to be immersive and connectivity universal. But with existing communication technology reaching its theoretical bandwidth limit, there are a series of big problems that have to be overcome. These include the difficulty of increasing capacity, the high cost of coverage, and high energy consumption.
The 6G technology market is also expected to enable major improvements in imaging, presence technology and location awareness. In conjunction with AI, the 6G computing infrastructure should be able to determine the best location for computing, including decisions about data storage, processing and sharing.
References:
https://english.news.cn/20240711/5dd430b4f66141d6a75a7fc505597fb3/c.html
https://www.lightreading.com/6g/china-builds-world-s-first-6g-field-test-network
ITU-R: IMT-2030 (6G) Backgrounder and Envisioned Capabilities
ITU-R WP5D invites IMT-2030 RIT/SRIT contributions
NGMN issues ITU-R framework for IMT-2030 vs ITU-R WP5D Timeline for RIT/SRIT Standardization
IMT-2030 Technical Performance Requirements (TPR) from ITU-R WP5D
Highlights of 3GPP Stage 1 Workshop on IMT 2030 (6G) Use Cases
6th Digital China Summit: China to expand its 5G network; 6G R&D via the IMT-2030 (6G) Promotion Group
5G Advanced offers opportunities for new revenue streams; 3GPP specs for 5G FWA?
What is 5G Advanced and is it ready for deployment any time soon?
ZTE reports higher earnings & revenue in 1Q-2024; wins 2023 climate leadership award
China’s ZTE reported 3.7% higher Q1-2024 earnings of 2.7 billion Chinese yuan (US$380 million), with sales up 5% to RMB30.6 billion ($4.2 billion).
With decreased CAPEX from China’s network operators, ZTE accelerated its transition from full connectivity to “connectivity + computing power” ino order to expand its addressable market.
Internationally, ZTE said it “continued to achieve continuous breakthroughs with major telecom operators in key countries, sustaining its growth trend. Simultaneously, in terms of government-enterprise business and consumer business, the company intensified its expansion in these two sectors, with both segments returning to rapid growth paths.”
That’s in sharp contrast to its European network equipment rivals, who have been exposed by the worldwide 5G wind-down. Nokia lost a fifth of its revenue in Q1; Ericsson reported a 14% slide, with network sales off by 19%.
ZTE didn’t break out its segment figures for Q1, but its 2023 full-year filing showed it remains heavily reliant on its home market, which contributed just under 70% of total revenue. Both ZTE and Huawei derive at least 80% of network spending by China’s state-owned telco giants (China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom).
ZTE, leveraging its long-term accumulation of ICT full-stack full-domain capabilities, is pursuing strategic opportunities in digitization, intelligence, and decarbonization. Keeping pace with the wave of AI development, the company deepens its business layout of “connectivity + computing power,” providing global customers in high-speed networks, computing infrastructure, and industrial digital transformation with an open and innovative intelligent network foundation.
ZTE says it’s committed to deeply integrating AI technology with terminals to drive product innovation and intelligent upgrades, thus constructing a smart ecosystem. For terminals, ZTE has proposed the concept of “AI for All,” launched an AI-driven all-scenario intelligent ecosystem 3.0, and released a variety of innovative products and technologies.
In the first quarter of 2024, the company’s research and development expenses were RMB 6.38 billion, accounting for 20.9% of operating revenue. That provided sustained strong impetus for business innovation and product enhancement/competitiveness.
Moving forward, ZTE says it is committed to actively embracing the digital construction wave, accelerating its transition towards “connectivity + computing power,” thereby driving the company’s high-quality development. The company will continue collaborating with industry partners to establish highly efficient, green, and intelligent digital infrastructure, aiming to advance the development of the global ICT industry.
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Separately, ZTE was honored with 2023 Climate Leadership Award (A list) at “Embracing International Disclosure Standards and Amplify the Voice of Chinese Companies – CDP China 2023 Annual Report Release and Award Ceremony.” This recognition comes as ZTE’s case study, “Target-Driven, Layered Decoding: Pathways and Actions to Achieve Climate Goals” was featured in 2023 CDP China Corporates Disclosure Report. The event further acknowledged ZTE’s outstanding contributions to climate change mitigation and sustainable development.
Summer Chen, Vice President and General Manager of Branding & PR Strategies at ZTE, shared the company’s actions and leadership in promoting green innovations during her speech titled “Shaping Digital Innovation for a Shared Sustainable Future.” She stated, “Green and sustainable development is a global consensus, with digital intelligence playing a pivotal role. In line with this trend, ZTE has dedicated itself to green and low-carbon innovations, and received an A rating for its leading climate action in CDP Climate Change 2023 Questionnaire, an honor achieved by only 2% of global participants.”
Ms. Chen emphasized ZTE’s commitment to green development, leveraging technological innovation to shape an eco-friendly ecosystem. This commitment is underpinned by four dimensions: green operations, green supply chain, green digital infrastructure and green empowerment, contributing to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals. ZTE focuses on energy conservation and carbon reduction within its business operations, while empowering industries to foster new quality productive forces, aiming to set a global benchmark as a green, sustainable, and low-carbon tech company.
References:
https://www.zte.com.cn/content/dam/zte-site/investorrelations/en_quarter_report/20240425.pdf
https://www.zte.com.cn/global/about/news/zte-scoops-2023-climate-leadership-award-a-list.html
https://www.lightreading.com/finance/zte-defies-capex-slump-with-higher-q1-earnings-revenue
https://www.zte.com.cn/content/dam/zte-site/investorrelations/en_annual_report/20240326.pdf
China Mobile & ZTE use digital twin technology with 5G-Advanced on high-speed railway in China
Türk Telekom and ZTE trial 50G PON, but commercial deployment is not imminent
ZTE sees demand for fixed broadband and smart home solutions while 5G lags
Vodafone Idea (Vi) to launch 5G services “soon;” Awards optical network equipment contract to ZTE
TM and ZTE Malaysia to develop next-gen hybrid cloud 5G core network
China Mobile reports record operating revenues in 1st Quarter 2024
China Mobile, the world’s largest operator in terms of subscribers, recorded operating revenues of CNY263.7 billion ($36.4 billion) in the first quarter of the year, an increase of 5.2% year-on-year, the carrier said in its earnings statement. The company’s net profit increased 5.5% year-on-year to CNY29.6 billion. Also, the telco reported that revenue from telecommunications services was CNY219.3 billion, up by 4.5% year-on-year. The telco ended the first quarter of the year with a total of 488 million 5G subscribers. China Mobile had reported a net addition of 138 million 5G subscribers during 2023. In the mobile segment, the telco reached a total of 996 million subscribers at the end of March 2024, after an addition of 5 million customers during the first quarter.
Highlights:
- Adopt a strategy-led approach, driving new milestones in business performance
- Leverage innovation, deepening strategic transformation with remarkable results
- Expedite further business upgrade, facilitating mutual advancement of the “two new elements”
- Achieve breakthroughs amidst adversity, yielding fruitful results from innovation and reform Dedicated to enhancing shareholder returns, using a multi-pronged approach Forge ahead with determination, accelerating the building of a world-class enterprise
Mr. Yang Jie, Chairman of the Company commented, “In 2023, despite various challenges faced by the Company in a complex and severe macro- environment, we seized the opportunities emerging from accelerated economic and social digital transformation. This helped anchor us in our position as a world class information services and sci-tech innovation enterprise. Our efforts were focused on fully implementing our “1-2-2-5” strategy and strengthening innovation and core competitiveness to promote high-quality and sustainable development. Our business results reached new milestones, with revenue surpassing the RMB trillion mark for the first time in our history of development, and net profit attaining a record high. In terms of operations, our strategic transformation, reforms and innovation all advanced to a new level, underscoring our solid progress in establishing a world-class enterprise that takes pride in outstanding products, reputable brands, leading innovation and modern governance.”
“The Group will continue to pursue stable progress while forging ahead with a steadfast focus on integrity and innovation. We will enhance core functions, improve core competitiveness, expedite the cultivation and growth of emerging sectors of strategic importance, develop new quality productive forces at an accelerated pace, and establish ourselves as a world-class information services and sci-tech innovation enterprise to a high standard. With these efforts, we will consistently create greater value for our shareholders and customers,” the China state owned telco said.
China Mobile plans to launch 5G-Advanced (5G-A) technology in over 300 cities across China this year, according to local press reports. The telco, which claims a leading role in the development of 5G-A 3GPP specifications, also plans to promote the release of over 20 5G-A compatible phones within the year. To showcase its new 5G-A network, China Mobile has established 5G-A demonstration halls in various locations across China.
China Mobile’s vice president, Gao Tongqing, stated that this launch will further accelerate the development of new information infrastructure and unlock the full potential of 5G technology. The carrier also said it aims to achieve widespread adoption of 5G-A technology in China through partnerships with manufacturers and chip suppliers.
Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are among the first cities where China Mobile will activate the new technology.
China had a total of 11.6 million mobile communication base stations as of the end of last year, of which 3.4 million were 5G base stations. 5G base stations currently account for nearly 29% of total mobile base stations in China. The ratio is 7.8 percentage points higher compared to the end of 2022.
Future Outlook:
The impact of the new wave of technological revolution and industrial reforms will continue to grow, so will the importance of integrated innovation. The three aspects of this integrated innovation will be highlighted in the power of information, the new generation information technology, and the merger of information service and social operation systems. At the same time this integrated innovation will deepen in three directions – the applications of a new generation of information technology to rapidly form new growth momentum, the collaboration of industry, academia, research and application to foster a new innovation paradigm, and the integration of digital and real economy to open up new development opportunities.
China Mobile sees valuable opportunities as they expand our information services. With the advocacy of the national “AI+” initiative and the further accelerated advancement of Digital China, the industry experiences new growth potential from the development of new quality productive forces. This progress brings forth the emergence of data as a new factor of production, computility as a new fundamental energy source and AI as a new instrument of production. The information services industry has not only in itself become an important sector for the development of new quality productive forces, but also a strong support for other sectors in this pursuit. General AI, particularly represented by AI large models, is developing robustly.
The role of AI is also fast changing from an assisting tool that helps different industries improve quality and efficiency, to an indispensable infrastructure and core capability that supports economic and social transformation and development. While AI brings forth disruptive applications, “AI+” opens up vast blue-ocean of opportunities. Fixating the vision of building a world-class information services and sci-tech innovation enterprise, we will capture opportunities arising from the development of “AI+” and extending our “5G+” initiatives towards 6 this direction. We will identify a new roadmap of transformation and upgrade through comprehensive, systematic and deep-dived integrated innovation. In doing so, we will drive more creation to enrich life, enhance quality production and support precise governance powered by digital intelligence. We will satisfy, drive and create demand to form a new for value growth trajectory and fuel the future development of the Company.
References:
p240321.pdf (chinamobileltd.com)
https://www.rcrwireless.com/20240423/carriers/china-mobile-q1-revenues-up-5-year-on-year
China Mobile & ZTE use digital twin technology with 5G-Advanced on high-speed railway in China
China Mobile & China Unicom increase revenues and profits in 2023, but will slash CAPEX in 2024
China Mobile verifies optimized 5G algorithm based on universal quantum computer
China Mobile to deploy 400G QPSK by the end of 2023
Omdia: China Mobile tops 2023 digital strategy benchmark as telcos develop new services
WSJ: China’s Telecom Carriers to Phase Out Foreign Chips; Intel & AMD will lose out
China’s largest telecom firms were ordered earlier this year to phase out foreign computer chips from their networks by 2027. That news confirms and expands on reports from recent months. It was reported in the Saturday print edition of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). The move will hit U.S. semiconductor processor companies Intel and Advanced Micro Devices. Asia Financial reported in late March that these retaliatory bans would cost the U.S. chip firms billions.
The deadline given by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) aims to accelerate efforts by Beijing to halt the use of such core chips in its telecom infrastructure. The regulator ordered state-owned mobile operators to inspect their networks for the prevalence of non-Chinese semiconductors and draft timelines to replace them, the people said.
In the past, efforts to get the industry to wean itself off foreign semiconductors have been hindered by the lack of good domestically made chips. Chinese telecom carriers’ procurements show they are switching more to domestic alternatives, a move made possible in part because local chips’ quality has improved and their performance has become more stable, the people said.
Such an effort will hit Intel and AMD the hardest, they said. The two chip makers have in recent years provided the bulk of the core processors used in networking equipment in China and the world.
China’s MIIT, which oversees the regulation of the wireless, broadcasting and communication industries, didn’t respond to WSJ’s request for comment. China Mobile and China Telecom , the nation’s two biggest telecom carriers by revenue, also didn’t respond.
In March 2023, the Financial Times reported China is seeking to forbid the use of Intel and AMD chips, as well as Microsoft’s operating system, from government computers and servers in favor of local hardware and software. The latest purchasing rules represent China’s most significant step yet to build up domestic substitutes for foreign technology and echo moves in the US as tensions increase between the two countries. Among the 18 approved processors were chips from Huawei and state-backed group Phytium. Both are on Washington’s export blacklist. Chinese processor makers are using a mixture of chip architectures including Intel’s x86, Arm and homegrown ones, while operating systems are derived from open-source Linux software.
Beijing’s desire to wean China off American chips where there are homemade alternatives is the latest installment of a U.S.-China technology war that is splintering the global landscape for network equipment, semiconductors and the internet. American lawmakers have banned Chinese telecom equipment over national-security concerns and have restricted U.S. chip companies including AMD and Nvidia from selling their high-end artificial-intelligence chips to China.
China has also published procurement guidelines discouraging government agencies and state-owned companies from purchasing laptops and desktop computers containing Intel and AMD chips. Requirements released in March give the Chinese entities eight options for central processing units, or CPUs, they can choose from. AMD and Intel were listed as the last two options, behind six homegrown CPUs.
Computers with the Chinese chips installed are preapproved for state buyers. Those powered by Intel and AMD chips require a security evaluation with a government agency, which hasn’t certified any foreign CPUs to date. Making chips for PCs is a significant source of sales for the two companies.
China Mobile and China Telecom are also key customers of both chip makers in China, buying thousands of servers for their data centers in the country’s mushrooming cloud-computing market. These servers are also critical to telecommunications equipment working with base stations and storing mobile subscribers’ data, often viewed as the “brains” of the network. Intel and AMD have the lion’s share of the overall global market for CPUs used in servers, according to data from industry researcher TrendForce. In 2024, Intel will likely hold 71% of the market, while AMD will have 23%, TrendForce estimates. The researcher doesn’t break out China data.
China’s localization policies could diminish Intel and AMD’s sales in the country, one of the most important markets for semiconductor firms. China is Intel’s largest market, accounting for 27% of the company’s revenue last year, Intel said in its latest annual report in January. The U.S. is its second-largest market. Its customers also include global electronics makers that manufacture in China.
In the report, Intel highlighted the geopolitical risk it faced from elevated U.S.-China tensions and China’s localization push. “We could face increased competition as a result of China’s programs to promote a domestic semiconductor industry and supply chains,” the report said.
References:
https://www.wsj.com/tech/china-telecom-intel-amd-chips-99ae99a9 (paywall)
https://www.ft.com/content/7bf0f79b-dea7-49fa-8253-f678d5acd64a
China Mobile & China Unicom increase revenues and profits in 2023, but will slash CAPEX in 2024
GSMA: China’s 5G market set to top 1 billion this year
MIIT: China’s Big 3 telcos add 24.82M 5G “package subscribers” in December 2023
China’s telecom industry business revenue at $218B or +6.9% YoY
China Mobile & China Unicom increase revenues and profits in 2023, but will slash CAPEX in 2024
China Mobile increased revenue 7.7% to 1.009 trillion Chinese yuan (US$140 billion) in 2023, with earnings up 3.7%. China Mobile’s biggest growth drivers were cloud computing and storage, which grew 66% to RMB83 billion ($11.5 billion), and 5G enterprise, which hiked sales by 30% to RMB47.5 billion ($6.6 billion). It also revealed it had earned RMB5.4 billion ($750 million) in 5G private networking revenue, up 113%. Its “new business” segment, which covers international, investments and applications, expanded 28% to RMB49.3 billion ($6.9 billion).
China Mobile’s capital spending was RMB180.3 billion ($25 billion), a 2.6% decrease from 2022. It gave no guidance for 2024, but CAPEX will surely decrease in 2024 and coming years due to a recent change to retain existing 5G network equipment longer than previously planned.
China Mobile’s Board on Thursday voted to extend the depreciable life of its 5G assets from seven years to ten years, based on the belief that much of its 5G network equipment will continue to be deployed after the arrival of 6G (IMT 2030) at the end of this decade (or later). The state owned telco said it expects “that 5G network investments shall be reused in 6G network infrastructure to the maximum extent, and therefore it is expected that 5G/6G networks will coexist after commercialization of 6G and 5G equipment will have a relatively long life cycle.”
The immediate effect of this decision will be to cut a massive 18 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) out of China Mobile’s depreciation bill this year. It’s the first time any major telco has formally declared that not only is it reluctant to spend on new 6G equipment, but that it also intends to keep its 5G assets as long as possible. That sends a clear warning that in the aftermath of the 5G capex binge, telcos have little appetite for big technology bets without a clear ROI.
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Meanwhile, China Unicom boosted net profit by 11.8% and topline revenue by 5.0%. Unicom said it had grown its cloud business by 42% to RMB51 billion ($7.1 billion), while its new computing and digital services business recorded RMB75 billion ($10.4 billion) in sales, up 13%.
“With 5G network coverage nearing completion, the Company’s investment focus is shifting from stable Connectivity and Communications (CC) business to high-growth Computing and Digital Smart Applications (CDSA) business. CAPEX was RMB73.9 billion in 2023. Network investment saw an inflection point.”
In 2023, Connectivity and Communications (CC) business, which encompasses mobile connectivity, broadband connectivity, TV connectivity, leased line connectivity, communications services as well as information services, achieved revenue of RMB244.6 billion. It contributed to three quarters of the service revenue of CC and CDSA combined. The Company’s connectivity scale further expanded, with the total number of CC subscribers exceeding one billion, representing an increase of about 140 million from the end of 2022.
China Unicom capital spending was flat at RMB73.9 billion ($10.3 billion), and it revealed it will slash CAPEX this year by RMB8.9 billion ($1.2 billion) or 12%.
References:
https://www.lightreading.com/5g/china-mobile-unicom-raise-red-flags-on-network-spend
https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2024/0321/2024032100246.pdf
https://www1.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2024/0319/2024031900241.pdf
MIIT: China’s Big 3 telcos add 24.82M 5G “package subscribers” in December 2023
China Mobile verifies optimized 5G algorithm based on universal quantum computer
Omdia: China Mobile tops 2023 digital strategy benchmark as telcos develop new services
China Unicom & Huawei deploy 2.1 GHz 8T8R 5G network for high-speed railway in China
MIIT: China’s Big 3 telcos add 24.82M 5G “package subscribers” in December 2023
China’s three state owned telecom operators have announced their subscriber totals for the month of December and for all of 2023. China’ Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said the big three had a combined net increase of approximately 24.82M 5G package subscribers in China, boosting their combined 5G package subscriber base to nearly 1.373B.
As of the end of December, 5G package subscribers accounted for 80.2% and 78.1% of China Mobile’s and China Telecom’s total mobile subscriber bases, respectively.
C114.net reported that 3.377 million 5G base stations have been built, constituting 28.5 percent of the total mobile base stations. There are 23.02 million ports with gigabit network service capabilities. More than 80% of administrative villages nationwide now have 5G connectivity, telecoms portal.
The foundation of the Internet of Things (IoT) is constantly being consolidated, with mobile IoT terminal users accounting for 57.5% of the total number of mobile network terminal connections. Technological industry innovation and development, the commercial deployment of 5G customized base stations and 5G lightweight technology, and the launch of the world’s first satellite communication smartphone, 6G, quantum communication, artificial intelligence and other innovative capabilities have significantly improved.
- China Mobile ended last year with 794.5 million subscribers to its 5G package (contract), while its total mobile subscriber base reached 991 million.
- China Telecom had a total of 407.7 million mobile users, of which 318.66 million had signed up to a 5G package (up by 50.7 million during 2023).
- China Unicom’s 5G package subscriber total hit 259.6 million by the end of last year, though disclosure on total mobile subscribers has not been provided. China Unicom also reported that there were 8,563 “virtual 5G industry private network” subscriber for the month of December which was an increase of 554 month-on-month and up 4,758 since the end of 2022.
Mobile Subscriber Stats for China’s Three Main Carriers (Unit: Millions)
| Operator | December 2023 Month-end Total |
% of Combined Installed 5G Sub Base |
December 2023 Net Change |
Net Change Since Prior Year-End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China Mobile | 991.00 | 0.05 | 15.99 | |
| 5G Package Subs | 794.50 | 57.87% | 15.70 | 180.50 |
| China Telecom | 407.77 | 0.54 | 16.59 | |
| 5G Package Subs | 318.66 | 23.21% | 4.03 | 50.70 |
| China Unicom | Not Available | |||
| 5G Package Subs | 259.64 | 18.91% | 5.08 | 46.91 |
China’s fourth 5G telecom network operator, China Broadnet, saw its 5G user base surpass 20 mln on October 19, the company revealed at the 2023 World 5G Convention held in Zhengzhou from December 5-7. Since that time, however, China Broadnet has not publicly released any updated 5G subscriber statistics.
Broadnet officially launched 5G network services just 19 months ago, on June 27, 2022. Because Broadnet is not yet reporting its 5G subscriber totals on a regular, monthly basis, Marbridge is not yet integrating its totals with those of China’s three more established telecom operators above.
Cautionary Note:
The Chinese telecom operators specifically report numbers for 5G packages, rather than citing 5G service users or connections, as while customers may have signed up for a 5G service package offer, that doesn’t necessarily mean they have a 5G-enabled device that enables them to hook up to their network operator’s 5G network, or indeed that their service provider is offering 5G services in their area just yet.
In addition to the growing 5G market in China, the fixed broadband segment is also very large. China Mobile had a total of 298 million wireline broadband customers at the end of December 2023, and throughout the year it added a total of 26 million fixed customers. China Telecom had 190 million fixed broadband subscribers by the year end, having added a total of 9.26 million wireline broadband users in 2023. China Unicom’s operational statistics for the last month of 2023 did not provide a breakdown of broadband customers.
References:
https://en.c114.com.cn/583/a1253372.html
Nokia to exit TD Tech joint venture with Huawei due to U.S.-China tensions
According to a January 21,2024 article in the South China Morning Post, Nokia is set to exit its joint venture with Huawei in the telecommunications sector due to US-China tensions. Nokia has found new buyers for its majority stake in a Beijing-based joint venture with Huawei Technologies, after a proposed deal fell through last year following strong protest by the Chinese partner. The article states that Nokia will sell its majority stake in TD Tech [1.] to a group that will be jointly controlled by Huawei and a group of entities that include the government-owned Chengdu High-Tech Investment Group and Chengdu Gaoxin Jicui Technology Co, as well as venture capital firm Huagai, according to a disclosure published on Friday by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR).
Huawei had a 14% share in the Chinese smartphone market in the third quarter 2023, putting it in fifth place behind its spin-off Honor and rivals Oppo, Vivo and Apple, data from market intelligence firm Counterpoint Research showed. According to Statista, Huawei had a 58% share of all 5G base stations in China as of the 3rd quarter 2023. Its closest competitor was ZTE with a market share of 31%. Nokia had only a 2% market share.
China Unicom & Huawei deploy 2.1 GHz 8T8R 5G network for high-speed railway in China
China Unicom Jilin, the local affiliate of China Unicom in the Jilin province, has completed the deployment of a 2.1 GHz 8T8R 5G network for a segment of the national Harbin-Dalian high-speed railway with 5G network equipment from Huawei.
Tests show that 8T8R AAUs increase the coverage area by 44% compared with 4T4R, and 5G user experience improves by 5.2 times compared with 4G. The train passengers can heartily access the network for entertainment such as HD video, live streaming, and New Calling as well as for work on-the-move such as remote video conferencing.
In 2023, China Unicom embarked on a 5G coverage project along China’s sixteen trunk high-speed railways. Its affiliate in Jilin province contributed to its share of constructing the province’s premium 5G network for high-speed railways within the provincial borders. At first, this network construction project was daunted by four serious challenges. To begin with, the distance between sites is large. What’s worse, the penetration loss was greater with high-speed railways than common railways. Additionally, high-speed mobility increased the Doppler shift, a direct cause of performance deterioration. Lastly, user experience was poor due to short camping time caused by frequent handovers (every 3–4 seconds) on trains running at a high speed of 300 km/hr.
To address these challenges, in this project, China Unicom Jilin deployed the 2.1 GHz 8T8R AAU, and activated the High-speed Railway Excellent Experience feature and Cell Combination feature.
The 2.1 GHz 8T8R AAU solution integrates with technologies like multi-antenna, integrated high-gain array, intelligent beamforming, and precise and fast beam sweeping. Compared with 4T4R, it improves coverage by 7.5 dB, user experience by an impressive 55%, and capacity by 85%. This solution solves the problem of poor coverage caused by large distances and large insertion loss on high-speed railways. It also uses the same antenna as the legacy 4G 1.8 GHz network, simplifying site deployment and reducing tower rental by 10%. This series of solutions with Huawei FDD beamforming technology took home the GSMA GLOMO award for “Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough” and was listed in the “Guangdong Province Energy Saving Technology and Equipment (Product) Recommendation Catalogue”, issued by the Guangdong Energy Bureau in July 2023, for its excellent performance in energy saving.
After the High-Speed Railway Excellent Experience feature is enabled, the 5G base station proactively adjusts the signal frequency to offset the negative impact caused by frequency offset. This solves the Doppler shift problem in high-speed railway continuous coverage scenarios. After Cell Combination feature is enabled, the number of inter-cell handovers can be reduced in a cell combination network, which solves the problems of fast handovers and short camping time on high-speed railways. Test results show that after this feature is enabled, the access success rate increases to 99.4% and the call drop rate decreases by 57%. This overcomes the difficulties of difficult network access in ultra-high-speed scenarios.
This commercial deployment of the 2.1 GHz 8T8R AAU solution will greatly facilitate the operator’s future plans for similar 5G rollouts. China Unicom Jilin will continue to explore 5G network deployments in different scenarios as well as innovative applications of 2.1 GHz 8T8R in order to build differentiated 5G advantages based on service requirements in various 5G scenarios.
China Unicom to deploy Huawei’s 64T64R MetaAAU product-an upgrade of Huawei MetaAAU
China’s telecom industry business revenue at $218B or +6.9% YoY
Huawei’s comeback: 2023 revenue approaches $100B with smart devices gaining ground
ABI Research: Telco transformation measured via patents and 3GPP contributions; 5G accelerating in China
Omdia: China’s 5G network co-sharing + cloud will create growth opportunities for Chinese service providers
China’s telecom industry business revenue at $218B or +6.9% YoY
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said that in the first eleven months of 2023, the telecommunication industry’s collective business revenue soared to 1.55 trillion yuan, approximately 218 billion U.S. dollars, marking a 6.9% year-on-year increase.
Emerging sectors such as big data, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT) have shown significant growth. China’s three state owned network providers, China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom have leveraged these technologies to catalyze a 20.1 percent surge in revenue from these areas, amounting to 332.6 billion yuan.
Cloud computing and big data have experienced explosive growth. Revenue from cloud computing surging by 39.7 percent and big data by 43.3 percent compared to the previous year. These figures underscore the central role of data-driven technologies in powering China’s telecom industry forward.
Broadband internet services continue to be a strong revenue stream for the three telecom giants, generating 240.4 billion yuan from January to November, which is an 8.5 percent increase year on year. This growth reflects the increasing demand for high-speed internet across China, as the country continues to embrace digital transformation in all sectors.
In conclusion, China’s telecommunication industry’s growth narrative in 2023 is not just a story of numbers but a chronicle of technological evolution and its integration into the fabric of society. With emerging sectors leading the charge, the industry’s upward trajectory seems poised to continue, as these technologies become increasingly embedded in the everyday lives of businesses and consumers alike.
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Separately, Mordor Intelligence forecasts the China Telecom Market size is expected to grow from USD 478.92 billion in 2023 to USD 547.43 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 2.71% during the forecast period (2023-2028).
References:
https://english.news.cn/20231223/36996f5176e24d48a5677ddc160c99a5/c.html
China’s Telecom Sector Soars with Big Data and Cloud Computing Growth
https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/china-telecom-market