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[Strait deals The Economist, 7 May 2009] company. It provides mobile voice and multimedia services through its nationwide mobile telecommunications network across mainland China and Hong Kong.
China Mobile Limited is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.[ Overview China Mobile Limited Official Site] It is the world's largest mobile network operator by total number of subscribers,
, China Mobile Limited's total market value stood at HK$965 billion, which is the largest red chip company.
History
Incorporated in 1997 as China Telecom (Hong Kong) Limited,
[ Milestone China Mobile Official Site] China Mobile was born from the 1999 break-up of China Telecommunications Corporation.
[ Asian economic and political issues, Volume 8 (page 68) Frank Columbus, Nova Publishers, 2003 (Google Books)] This company continues to provide mobile services, however.
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In May 2008, the company took over China Tietong, a fixed-line telecom[Telecoms in China The Economist, 29 May 2008] and the then third-largest broadband ISP in China[ China Mobile to take over China Tietong Telecom] 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.
China Mobile is among the state entities which contribute to the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, which was established in an effort to decrease China's reliance on foreign semiconductor companies.
In December 2021, China Mobile announced that its international arm would cease operations in Canada due to national security concerns by the Canadian government.
U.S. sanctions
In November 2020, President Donald Trump issued an executive order prohibiting any American company or individual from owning shares in companies that the United States Department of Defense has listed as having links to the People's Liberation Army, which included China Mobile.
In March 2022, the Federal Communications Commission designated China Mobile's U.S. subsidiary, China Mobile International USA, a national security threat.
Operations in Russia amid sanctions
China Mobile has faced criticism for continuing its operations in Russia despite the international sanctions imposed on the country following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The company's decision aligns with the broader trend of major Chinese firms maintaining business as usual in Russia, as noted by monitoring projects such as Yale's CELI list and the KSE Institute's "Leave Russia" project.
Ownership and control
A state-owned enterprise directly controlled by the government of the People's Republic of China
The company likely enjoys substantial Protectionism benefits from China's government[ Asian Economic and Political Issues, Volume 8 (page 54) 2003. Frank Columbus. Nova Publishers. (Google Books)] but also experiences frequent government intervention in its business affairs.[ Asian Economic and Political Issues, Volume 8 (page 84) 2003. Frank Columbus. Nova Publishers. (Google Books)] Government control is maintained through a presumably government-owned holding company, China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd. (formerly: China Mobile Communications Corporation; CMCC), that owns 100 percent ownership of China Mobile (HK) Group Limited,[ CMCC Profile CMCC Official Site (Archive.org cache)] which in turn holds over seventy percent ownership of China Mobile–the remainder being controlled by public investors.
China Mobile is one of the "core" central SOEs overseen by State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC).
Finances
The key trends for China Mobile are (as of the financial year ending December 31):|
| 2018 | 873 | 140 | 1,752 | 459 |
| 2019 | 846 | 121 | 1,822 | 456 |
| 2020 | 863 | 121 | 2,049 | 454 |
| 2021 | 1,022 | 140 | 2,252 | 450 |
| 2022 | 1,090 | 146 | 2,173 | 451 |
| 2023 | 1,115 | 146 | 2,193 | 452 |
| 2024 | 1,128 | 150 | 2,243 | 455 |
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.
China Mobile has historically held a greater share of the rural market than competitors.[ "Chinese Telecom: China Mobile Leads the Way" . Bloomberg BusinessWeek. 5 August 2009] By 2006, its network had expanded to provide reception to 97% of the Chinese population,[ Homepage > Brand & Products > Business Review CMCC Official Site] and the company has since seen a sustained stream of new, rural mobile customers.
It also offers services targeted at the rural market including an agricultural information service, which facilitates a variety of activities such as the sale and purchase of agricultural products, access to market prices for produce and crops, wire transfers, bank withdrawals, and payments, etc.[ 2008 Corporate Social Responsibility Report – Rural Program CMCC Official Site]
Overseas activities
The company branched out in 2007 with the purchase of Paktel in Pakistan[ CMCC Officially Enter Pakistani Telecommunication Market, 25 March 2007 CMCC Official Site] launching the Zong brand there a year later.[ ZoNG the first international brand of China Mobile being launched in Pakistan, 5 April 2008 CMCC Official Site]
In 2013, China Mobile eyed expansion into Myanmar expressing interest in bidding for one of two licences on offer in a partnership with Vodafone although this plan ultimately fell through.
Digital barrier removal
In 2023, China Mobile's digital wallet users were able to make payments by scanning WeChat QR codes as part of a program to remove barriers between the of technology companies in China.
Brands
Mainland China
Mobile services are available in Mainland China under several brands as of 2007.[ (Archive.org cache)] , the below brands are scheduled to be slowly phased out and replaced by an all-encompassing new brand name—And
- GoTone
( Rough translation: "Global Connect"): subscription[ Homepage > Brand & Products > Our Brands CMCC Official Site (Archive.org cache)]
- M-zone
( Rough translation: "Dynamic Area"): a premium prepaid service popular with youths
- Easyown
( Rough translation: "Travel across China"[ (lit. "travel the holy states")): a basic prepaid mobile phone service more heavily marketed in rural areas]
- G3
A 3G service brand using TD-SCDMA
- and!和
A 4G/LTE service brand using TD-LTE
Hong Kong
CMHK is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Mobile. It offers GSM, GPRS, EDGE, HSPA+ (MVNO), FD-LTE and TD-LTE technologies to customers in this the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Pakistan
Zong is China Mobile's brand in Pakistan and is operated by China Mobile Pakistan (CMPak), a subsidiary.
United Kingdom
In December 2017, China Mobile launched a MVNO service in the UK called CMLink. CMLink is aimed at the Chinese population living in the UK and Chinese visitors and students. Plans include free calls to China Mobile phones in China.
Singapore
In June 2020, China Mobile launched a MVNO service called CMLink. It uses Singtel networks, which is one of Singapore's largest mobile network operator.
CMLink is aimed at the Chinese population living in the Singapore and Chinese visitors and students. Plans include free calls to China Mobile phones in China.
Network
China Mobile operates a GSM network,[ Beijing Olympic Games spur another technological leap forward China Mobile, 18 Aug 2008] which encompasses all 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and directly administered municipalities in mainland China and includes Hong Kong, too.[ GPRS is utilized for data transmission.][ Networks & Technologies China Mobile]
- 3G
Marketed as " G3", the company controls 70% of the Chinese mobile market but a far smaller percentage of the 3G market.[ , its nearly 60 million 3G subscribers account for roughly 9% of its total subscriber base,][ which is an increase from 3% in 2010.][China Mobile Still Dominates, but Faces Competition in 3G. morningstar.com, 22 October 2010]
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 .[
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- 4G
Marketed as " and和", as of 2010, China Mobile has debuted small-scale 4G demonstration networks using a variant of 3GPP's Long Term Evolution, TD-LTE, and has plans for larger, citywide demonstration networks in the future.[
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While prior iPhone models could not use the China Mobile network due to the chipset relying on WCDMA-based networks, talks to carry the then unreleased 4G iPhone (iPhone 5) began in mid-2012.
- 5G
China Mobile is developing a 5G service. As part of this development, Huawei has been awarded 52 percent of 5G contracts in 2023 (estimated at 45,426 base stations).
- Everest
In 2003 and again in 2007, China Mobile provided mobile services on Mount Everest.[For 2003 service, see Everest goes online for anniversary Mary Hennock, bbc.co.uk, Wednesday, 23 April 2003, 04:23 GMT 05:23 UK
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- Spratly Isles coverage
In May 2011, China Mobile announced its network now includes the controversial Spratly Islands.[Ian Mansfield, 18 May 2011, China Mobile Expands Coverage to the Spratly Islands , Cellular News]
See also
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List of largest companies by revenue
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List of mobile network operators
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List of mobile network operators of the Americas
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List of mobile network operators of the Asia Pacific region
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List of mobile network operators of the Middle East and Africa
External links
