The number of mobile phone subscribers in China hit a record 416
million at the end of April, the Ministry of Information Industry
(MII) said on Sunday.
Statistics show that the number increased by 23.216 million in
the first four months of the year which was more than twice the
increase of fixed-line users. There are 55.7 million more mobile
subscribers than fixed-line users.
The average monthly increase in mobile users has been between 3
million and 4 million in the past year, said the MII.?
China's mobile subscribers have been growing rapidly and
overtook fixed-line users in October 2003.
Along with the increase in mobile users the short message volume
climbed 46.5 percent over the previous year in the first four
months of 2006 to 132.25 billion.
The ministry also said in the January-April period this year
China's total post and telecommunications revenue reached 229.31
billion yuan (around US$28.6 billion)--up 11.7 percent over the
same period of last year.
China imported its first mobile phone telecommunication
facilities in 1987 and a decade later the number of subscribers
reached 10 million. Just four years later the country had the
largest number of mobile phone users in the world.
(Xinhua News Agency May 22, 2006)