China Mobile (HKEX: 941) brings a whole new meaning to ‘operating at scale.’ The world’s largest mobile network operator, according to Inside Towers Intelligence, surpassed one billion (with a B!) wireless subscribers in 2024, including 552 million 5G users. Along with China Unicom and China Telecom, China’s three state-owned MNOs serve nearly 1.4 billion subscribers. In comparison, the U.S. Big 3 – Verizon (NYSE: VZ), T-Mobile (NASDAQ: TMUS), and AT&T (NYSE: T) – reported a combined total of nearly 384 million customers, reflecting the smaller U.S. population.
China Mobile’s extensive network infrastructure includes 4.4 million cell sites, including 2.4 million for 5G with 476,000 5G sites added in 2024. The MNO plans to add 340,000 more 5G base stations in 2025. By contrast, the three U.S. MNOs together operate nearly 250,000 cell sites and an estimated 132,000 small cells, and will add around 10,000 5G base stations in 2025.
China Mobile intends to allocate $8 billion in capital expenditures for 5G deployments in 2025, a decrease from the $9.5 billion planned for 2024. This reduction acknowledges that capex as a percentage of revenue are declining as the company approaches full buildout levels.
The three U.S. MNOs are guiding to spend an aggregate of over $30 billion in 2025 capex, reflecting a three percent year-over-year increase, for their 5G network expansion and buildout. According to Inside Towers Intelligence, approximately $12 billion of the total U.S. wireless capex will be directed towards the radio access network.
Compared to its U.S. counterparts, China Mobile benefits from economies of scale, enabling more cost-effective construction of cell sites by utilizing Chinese equipment manufacturers such as Huawei and ZTE, and leveraging shared RAN infrastructure. Conversely, U.S. MNOs primarily procure equipment from foreign-based manufacturers like Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC), Nokia (NYSE: NOK), and Samsung Electronics (OTCPK: SSNLF). The smaller scale generally results in higher equipment costs.
Here’s the big difference, though. China Mobile’s 2024 service revenues reached $67 billion, down one percent year-over-year. The company reported that ARPU declined nearly two percent to $6.69 per month, with mobile data consumption averaging 15 Gb per month.
In comparison, the combined U.S. Big 3 wireless service revenues in 2024 were nearly $211 billion, up three percent YoY. AT&T alone accounted for over $65 billion. Average ARPU for retail postpaid service in the U.S. was $44.42 per month, with monthly mobile data consumption around 22 Gb, according to Inside Towers Intelligence. These variations reflect the different economic and market environments. Chinese MNOs are predominantly state-owned that tend to manage the market, whereas the U.S. market is highly competitive among publicly held MNOs.
By John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor
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