China Telecom highlights 5G progress
China Telecom booked growth in 5G adoption in Q3 despite Covid-19 (coronavirus) restrictions in many cities, with more than 64 per cent of its user base now signed up to the next-generation service.
The operator added 95.5 million 5G package subscribers, taking its total to 251 million at end-September. It’s overall user base rose by 20.2 million to 369.7 million.
In an earnings release, chairman and CEO Ke Ruiwen stated China Telecom will continue to promote its cloud and digital transformation strategy to develop as a service-oriented enterprise.
See more: Ericsson backs 5G to deliver further growth
Net profit rose 12 per cent year-on-year to CNY6.3 billion ($869.1 million), and operating revenue grew 7.9 per cent to CNY118.7 billion.
In the opening nine months, mobile service revenue grew 5.6 per cent to CNY148.4 billion, with ARPU of CNY45.50.
Enterprise service sales grew 16.5 per cent to CNY85.6 billion, with revenue from its e-Surfing cloud unit doubling.
Operating expenses rose 9.9 per cent to CNY330.7 billion, attributed to an increase in network operations and support expenses.
