China Cell ended September with 622 million 5G subscribers after a internet addition of 23 million 5G prospects in the course of the third quarter
In sum – what to know:
Revenues edge up 0.4% – China Cell posted CNY794.7 billion ($111.6 billion) in working income for Jan–Sep 2025, reflecting slight year-on-year development.
Revenue rises 4% y-o-y – Internet revenue reached CNY115.4 billion, supported by regular service income beneficial properties and price effectivity.
5G base expands – The operator added 23 million 5G customers in Q3, sustaining its lead with over a billion whole cellular subscribers.
China Cell, the world’s largest operator by way of subscribers, recorded working revenues of CNY794.7 billion ($11.6 billion) within the first 9 months of the 12 months, up 0.4% in comparison with CNY791.5 billion in the identical interval the earlier 12 months, the telco mentioned in its earnings assertion.
The corporate’s internet revenue surged 4% year-on-year to CNY115.4 billion. Additionally, the operator reported that income from telecommunications providers was CNY683.1 billion within the interval, up by 0.8% year-on-year.
The telco famous its Ebitda was CNY265.4 billion, up by 0.9% year-on-year.
The telco ended September with a complete of 622 million 5G subscribers after a internet addition of 23 million 5G prospects in the course of the third quarter. Within the cellular phase, the telco reached a complete of 1.009 billion subscribers on the finish of September 2025.
As at 30 September 2025, the telco’s whole variety of wireline broadband prospects reached 329 million, with a internet improve of 14.20 million within the first three quarters of the 12 months; of which, the variety of family broadband prospects reached 288 million, with a internet improve of 9.76 million within the first three quarters of the 12 months.
Within the subject of AI, China Cell had mentioned it has positioned itself as a supplier, aggregator and operator, accelerating tempo in AI innovation and scale utility.
AI is already ushering in a brand new period of technological and societal transformation, and its fusion with human exercise — what China Cell calls “carbon-silicon symbiosis” — will outline the subsequent wave of commercial growth, mentioned Yang Jie, chairman of China Cell, throughout his keynote handle on the MWC Shanghai 2025 occasion.
The boss of China Cell opened his keynote by framing AI as the newest technological drive following what he known as the “Web+” and “5G+” eras. He mentioned we at the moment are coming into the “AI+” period, during which synthetic intelligence serves as a strategic driver of financial and industrial transformation. With AI capabilities now matching or surpassing human-level efficiency in areas like language understanding and picture classification, the chief emphasised the rising function of “silicon-based life” — a metaphor for clever machines.
The manager additionally described a future the place sensors, processors, reminiscence and management techniques will work collectively like a nervous system. Built-in into sensible units, automobiles and robots, these silicon-based brokers will develop into ubiquitous and function decision-making instruments embedded throughout society. In response to Yang, these clever techniques will ultimately outnumber people, changing into very important elements of the social workforce and data economic system.
In his speech, the China Cell govt additionally argued that the digital and bodily worlds are on a path of deep convergence. On this futuristic state of affairs, AI brokers will all the time be on-line and can more and more map and simulate the true world, increasing the scope of human actions in manufacturing, communication and analysis. This fusion, Yang famous, will speed up innovation cycles and enhance financial effectivity, paving the way in which for an “clever economic system.”
