Net revenue at state-backed carrier China Mobile dropped 15% annually in the first half of the year, according to an earnings statement filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Why it matters: The world’s largest telecom operator in terms of subscriber numbers attributed the decline to intensifying competition in an almost-saturated “traditional telecommunications market,” hinting that the company is banking on 5G to bring an upturn in business fortunes.
The 4G penetration rate in China hit 84% at the turn of the year, according to a Ministry of Industry and Information Technology report in January.
The Chinese government’s push to lower data charges also led to the poor results, said the company.
China has stepped up the development of 5G networks and has received a commercial 5G license in June, along with fellow state-owned carriers, China Unicom and China Telecom.
Details: Net profit for the six months ended June 30 was RMB 56 billion ($8 billion), compared with RMB 65.6 billion in the same period last year.
