China Telecom Sees Faster Growth in Mobiles, Steady Growth in Fixed Broadband

China Telecom reported a surge in 3G subscriptions, continued fast growth in fixed line broadband and a steady loss of traditional access lines. Growth in mobile subscriptions is about 3X the growth in wireline broadband lines. The growth rate in mobile revenue (50%) is even higher than for fixed Internet access (13%)For the first six months of 2011, China Telecom posted operating revenues of RMB 120.1 billion, up by 11.7%.


"In the first half of 2011, we captured the valuable opportunities arising from the accelerated development of social and economic information to deepen strategic transformation, amidst the rapid technological advancement in mobile Internet," stated Wang Xiaochu, China Telecom's chairman. "We proactively implement our strategic positioning as 'a leader of intelligent pipeline, a provider of integrated platforms, and a participant in content and application development', adhering to integrated differentiated operation."


Some highlights:


The total number of mobile subscribers reached 108 million, representing a net addition of 17.85 million from the end of last year, up by 19.7%, of which 3G mobile subscribers was 21.54 million, representing a net increase of 9.25 million from the end of last year, up by 75.3%.


The total number of broadband subscribers reached 70.09 million, representing a net addition of
6.61 million from the end of last year, up by 10.4%.


The total number of access lines in service was 172 million, representing a net decrease of 2.83
million from the end of last year, down by 1.6%.


Mobile service revenue increased by 36.8% over the same period of last year, reaching RMB 31,139 million,
and further rising to 25.9% as a percentage of operating revenue.


In the first half of the year the monthly compound growth rate of 3G handset Internet traffic exceeded 12%.


Revenue from wireline broadband services increased by 13.1% from the same period last year, reaching a total of RMB29,755 million, further rising to 24.8% as a percentage of the operating revenue.


Revenue from wireline voice amounted to RMB26,462 million, accounting for 22.0% of the total revenue.


China Telecom's mobile ARPU is RMB52.2
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