The Statistical Bulletin of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology tells you how the communications industry performed in 2019

In 2019, my country's communications industry thoroughly implemented the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, adhered to the new development concept, and actively practiced the strategy of building a strong cyber power. 5G construction was carried out in an orderly manner, and the capabilities of new information infrastructure were continuously improved, which strongly supported the digital transformation of society.

1. The industry maintained stable operation

1. Telecommunications business revenue stabilized and rebounded, and the total volume of telecommunications business grew rapidly

According to preliminary calculations, the total telecommunications business revenue in 2019 was 1.31 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.8% over the previous year. The total telecommunications business volume calculated at the previous year's prices was 1.74 trillion yuan, an increase of 18.5% over the previous year.

Figure 1-1 Growth of telecommunications business revenue from 2014 to 2019

(II) Fixed-line communications business maintained rapid growth and its share continued to increase

In 2019, fixed communications business revenue reached 416.1 billion yuan, up 9.5% year-on-year, accounting for 31.8% of telecommunications business revenue, an increase of 2.6 percentage points over the previous year; mobile communications business revenue reached 894.2 billion yuan, down 2.9% year-on-year, accounting for 68.2% of telecommunications business revenue.

Figure 1-2 Proportion of mobile communications business and fixed communications business revenue from 2014 to 2019

Affected by factors such as the slowdown in user growth and Internet application substitution, voice business revenue in 2019 reached 162.2 billion yuan, a decrease of 15.5% from the previous year, and its share in telecommunications business revenue dropped to 12.4%.  

Figure 1-3 Telecom revenue structure (voice and non-voice) from 2014 to 2019

(III) Data and Internet businesses grew rapidly, and emerging businesses became new driving forces

Closely cooperate with local governments, accelerate the construction of major projects such as smart cities, actively provide emerging services such as 5G, Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, etc., inject intelligence into the government and empower the industry, and fixed value-added and other services have gradually become new driving forces for the development of the industry. In 2019, the fixed data and Internet business revenue reached 217.5 billion yuan, an increase of 5.1% over the previous year, and the proportion of telecommunications business revenue increased from 15.9% in the previous year to 16.6%; mobile data and Internet business revenue reached 608.2 billion yuan, an increase of 1.5% over the previous year; fixed value-added business revenue reached 137.1 billion yuan, an increase of 21.2% over the previous year, of which IPTV (Internet TV) business revenue reached 29.4 billion yuan, an increase of 21.1% over the previous year; Internet of Things business revenue increased by 25.5% over the previous year.

Figure 1-4 Development of fixed data and Internet business revenue from 2014 to 2019

Figure 1-5 Development of mobile data and Internet business revenue from 2014 to 2019

II. Network speed-up and universal service have achieved remarkable results

1. The growth rate of telephone users has slowed down, and the penetration rate of mobile phones has steadily increased.

In 2019, the number of telephone users increased by 34.2 million nationwide, reaching a total of 1.79 billion, an increase of 2.5% over the end of the previous year. Among them, due to the basic release of the demand for the second card slot, the net increase of mobile phone users in the whole year dropped from 149 million last year to 35.25 million, with a total of 1.6 billion. The penetration rate of mobile phone users reached 114.4 units per 100 people, an increase of 2.2 units per 100 people over the end of the previous year. There are 26 provinces and cities in the country with a mobile phone penetration rate of more than 100 units per 100 people. The total number of fixed-line telephone users was 191 million, a decrease of 1.05 million from the end of the previous year, and the penetration rate dropped to 13.6 units per 100 people.

Figure 2-1 Development of fixed-line and mobile phone penetration rates from 2009 to 2019

Figure 2-2 Mobile phone penetration rate in each province in 2019

(II) Fixed broadband has entered the gigabit era, with 4G users accounting for over 80%

The implementation of the "Double G and Double Improvement" work has been accelerated, the network speed has been effective, and fixed broadband has entered the gigabit era. As of the end of December, the total number of fixed Internet broadband access users of the three basic telecommunications companies reached 449 million, with a net increase of 41.9 million throughout the year. Among them, the number of users with access speeds of 1000Mbps and above was 870,000, and the total number of fixed Internet broadband access users with access speeds of 100Mbps and above reached 384 million, accounting for 85.4% of the total number of fixed broadband users, an increase of 15.1 percentage points from the end of the previous year. Mobile network coverage has extended in depth, with the total number of 4G users reaching 1.28 billion, with a net increase of 117 million throughout the year, accounting for 80.1% of the total number of mobile phone users.

 Figure 2-3 Percentage of users of fixed internet broadband at various access speeds in 2018 and 2019

3. Telecommunications universal service has achieved remarkable results, and rural broadband users have grown rapidly

As of the end of December, the number of rural broadband users increased by 17.36 million, reaching a total of 135 million, up 14.8% from the end of last year, 6.3 percentage points higher than the growth rate of urban broadband users; they accounted for 30% of fixed broadband access users (28.8% in the same period last year), an increase of 1.2 percentage points from the end of last year.

Figure 2-4 Number of rural broadband access users and their proportion from 2014 to 2019

(IV) New business models are developing well, and the scale of cellular Internet of Things users is expanding rapidly

Strengthen ecological cooperation, focus on key areas such as the Internet of Things, cloud services, smart life, vertical industry applications, and 5G, and accelerate the cultivation of emerging businesses. As of the end of December, the three basic telecommunications companies had developed 1.03 billion cellular Internet of Things users, with a net increase of 357 million users throughout the year. The net increase in IPTV (Internet TV) users was 38.7 million throughout the year, and the net increase in IPTV (Internet TV) users accounted for 78.9% of the net increase in fiber-optic access users.

3. Mobile data traffic consumption has steadily expanded

1. Mobile Internet traffic grew rapidly, and the average monthly traffic per user (DOU) increased steadily

Online and offline service integration and innovation remain active, and various Internet applications are accelerating their penetration into fourth- and fifth-tier cities and rural users, which has kept the consumption of mobile Internet access traffic growing rapidly. In 2019, the consumption of mobile Internet access traffic reached 122 billion GB, an increase of 71.6% over the previous year, and the growth rate narrowed by 116.7 percentage points over the previous year. The average monthly mobile Internet traffic per household (DOU) reached 7.82GB/household/month throughout the year, 1.69 times that of the previous year; the DOU in December was as high as 8.59GB/household/month. Among them, mobile Internet traffic reached 121 billion GB, an increase of 72.4% over the previous year, accounting for 99.2% of the total traffic.

Figure 3-1 Growth of mobile Internet traffic and monthly DOU from 2014 to 2019

Figure 3-2 Mobile Internet access traffic and DOU in 2019

(II) The volume of mobile text messaging services grew rapidly, while the volume of voice services declined slightly

The continuous penetration of security-related services such as network login and user identity authentication has greatly increased the volume of mobile SMS business. In 2019, the volume of mobile SMS business in China increased by 37.5% over the previous year, an increase of 23.5 percentage points over the previous year; the revenue of mobile SMS business reached 39.2 billion yuan, the same as the previous year. 

 Figure 3-3 Growth in mobile SMS business volume and revenue from 2014 to 2019

The impact of Internet applications on voice services has deepened. In 2019, the national mobile phone outgoing call duration was 2.4 trillion minutes, a decrease of 5.9% from the previous year.

 Figure 3-4 Growth in mobile phone users and call volume from 2014 to 2019 

4. Network infrastructure capabilities continue to be strengthened

1. Fixed asset investment increased slightly, and mobile communications investment accelerated

In 2019, driven by the rapid growth of 5G-related investment, the three basic telecommunications companies and China Tower Corporation completed a total fixed asset investment increase of 4.7% over the previous year. Among them, mobile communications investment ranked first in telecommunications investment, accounting for 47.3% of total investment.

(II) The optical network transformation work has achieved remarkable results, and the 5G network construction has been promoted in an orderly manner

We will promote the IT, software and cloud deployment of networks, consolidate the foundation of smart operations, build a cloud-network interconnection platform, and consolidate the network capabilities to provide services to various industries; 4G coverage blind spots are constantly being eliminated, and the capabilities of the mobile communication core network are continuously improving, consolidating the foundation for 5G network construction. In 2019, the length of newly built optical cable lines was 4.34 million kilometers, and the total length of optical cable lines in China reached 47.5 million kilometers. The trend of "optical fiber in and copper out" for Internet broadband access ports is more obvious. As of the end of December, the number of Internet broadband access ports reached 916 million, a net increase of 48.26 million over the end of the previous year. Among them, the number of optical fiber access (FTTH/0) ports increased by 64.79 million over the end of the previous year, reaching 836 million, and the proportion of Internet access ports increased from 88.9% at the end of the previous year to 91.3%. The number of xDSL ports decreased by 2.61 million from the end of the previous year, and the total number dropped to 8.2 million, and the proportion of Internet access ports decreased from 1.2% at the end of the previous year to 0.9%.

 Figure 4-1 Development of Internet broadband access ports from 2014 to 2019

In 2019, the number of mobile phone base stations increased by 1.74 million nationwide, reaching a total of 8.41 million. Among them, the total number of 4G base stations reached 5.44 million. The construction of 5G networks has been smoothly promoted. In many cities, 5G networks have achieved continuous outdoor coverage in key urban areas, and assisted local governments in achieving indoor coverage in exhibitions, important places, key business districts, airports and other areas.

Figure 4-2 Development of mobile phone base stations from 2014 to 2019

V. Coordinated development of the eastern, central and western regions

1. The share of telecommunication business revenue in the eastern, central, western and northeastern regions is stable

In 2019, the eastern and western regions accounted for 50.9% and 23.7%, respectively, up 0.3 and 0.1 percentage points from the previous year; the central and northeastern regions accounted for 19.6% and 5.8%, down 0.1 and 0.3 percentage points from the previous year.

Figure 5-1 Proportion of telecommunication business revenue in the eastern, central, western and northeastern regions from 2014 to 2019

(II) Northeast China leads in the proportion of users with 100M and above fixed Internet broadband access

As of the end of 2019, the number of fixed Internet broadband access users with speeds of 100Mbps and above in the eastern, central, western and northeastern regions reached 171.43 million, 92.72 million, 96.02 million and 23.60 million, respectively, accounting for 86.1%, 85.9%, 83.3% and 87.5% of the broadband access users in the region, respectively. 

Figure 5-2 Penetration rate of fixed broadband access users with speeds of 100 Mbps or above in the eastern, central, western and northeastern regions from 2016 to 2019

(III) The growth rate of mobile Internet traffic in the western region leads the country

In 2019, the mobile Internet access traffic in the eastern, central, western and northeastern regions reached 53.1 billion GB, 26.2 billion GB, 35.5 billion GB and 7.25 billion GB, respectively, up 67.8%, 75.2%, 76.7% and 62.4% year-on-year, respectively. The growth rate in the western region was 8.9, 1.5 and 14.3 percentage points higher than that in the eastern, central and northeastern regions, respectively. In December 2019, the average monthly traffic per household in the western region reached 9.5 GB, 1.04 GB, 1.43 GB and 1.76 GB higher than that in the eastern, central and northeastern regions, respectively.

Figure 5-3 Growth rate of mobile Internet access traffic in the eastern, central, western and northeastern regions from 2014 to 2019

Interpretation of the 2019 Communications Industry Statistical Bulletin

The communications industry is running smoothly and the industry is accelerating its transformation and upgrading

In 2019, my country's communications industry continued to deepen its transformation, new business innovation gradually formed new development momentum, network upgrades and new information infrastructure construction progressed smoothly, effectively supporting the digital development of the entire society.

1. The industry continues to improve, and the pace of high-quality development is accelerating

In 2019, the total volume of telecommunications business reached 1.74 trillion yuan (calculated at the previous year's price), an increase of 18.5% over the previous year. The total revenue of telecommunications business reached 1.31 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.8% over the previous year. The industry maintained a positive growth trend throughout the year, and the development of the industry continued to improve. Among them, the fixed value-added telecommunications business revenue, mainly IPTV, data centers, cloud services and big data, reached 137.1 billion yuan, an increase of 21.2% year-on-year, which is one of the main factors driving the growth of telecommunications business revenue. The effect of the transformation of new and old kinetic energy in the industry has begun to emerge. In recent years, telecommunications operators have continued to promote the IT, software and cloud deployment of networks, and the reconstruction of network architecture has continued to advance. With cloud-network integration as the lead, they have made positive progress in cloud infrastructure, software-defined networks, network function virtualization and other fields, improved network service capabilities and levels, and continuously met the differentiated service needs of government, enterprise and household customers. In 2019, cloud service revenue increased by nearly 80%. In 2019, the communications industry continued to implement the "speed up and reduce fees" policy and launched the number portability service. After canceling domestic roaming charges in 2018, the country lowered international roaming charges this year and launched large-data package deals to continuously benefit the people. The prices of telecommunications services continued to decline, with the average mobile data charge dropping to 5 yuan/GB. The average fixed broadband access charge calculated based on the unit bandwidth price (yuan/MB) is only one-tenth of that in 2014.

2. The proportion of 4G users has steadily increased, and the scale of cellular IoT terminals has exploded

In 2019, the total number of mobile phone users in China exceeded 1.6 billion, with a net increase of 35.25 million, a significant decline from the 149 million in the previous year (the highest level in the past decade). The main reasons are: First, after the cancellation of roaming charges, the demand for user migration and multiple SIM cards has dropped significantly; second, companies have increased the promotion of new services and shifted their marketing focus to digging deep into the value of existing users; third, network construction resources have been invested in 4G and 5G, and the number of 3G users in some regions has dropped significantly; fourth, users from resale companies have been diverted, and the 38 resale companies that have already started business have added more than 45 million mobile users. By the end of 2019, the national mobile phone user penetration rate reached 114.4 units per 100 people, an increase of 2.2 units per 100 people from the end of the previous year, far higher than the global average of 101.5 units per 100 people①. There are 26 provinces and cities in China with a mobile phone penetration rate of more than 100 per 100 people. The penetration rates in the east, central, west and northeast are 130.5, 97.5, 111 and 108.1 respectively. In 2019, the communications industry launched a number portability service for the benefit of the people. Enterprises have earnestly promoted the implementation of the policy in accordance with the standards of "portable, fast transfer and good use", "porting" the hearts of the people and "transferring" convenience to meet the people's demand for a better information life. my country has the most comprehensive 4G network coverage in the world. By the end of 2019, the number of 4G base stations reached 5.44 million, accounting for 64.7% of the total number of base stations. In 2019, 1.72 million new 4G base stations were built, which, on the one hand, achieved large-scale network expansion, made up for the blind spots of coverage in rural areas and improved user experience, and on the other hand, enhanced the core network capabilities and laid a solid foundation for the construction of 5G networks. As of the end of December, the total number of 4G users reached 1.28 billion, with a net increase of 117 million throughout the year, accounting for 80.1% of the total number of mobile phone users. The proportion has increased by 12, 4.3 and 5.6 percentage points in the past three years respectively. The proportion of 4G users is much higher than the global average (less than 60%), and is comparable to the leading South Korea (80.7%).

Relying on mobile communication networks, my country has built the world's most extensive Internet of Things. By the end of 2019, the number of cellular Internet of Things connections reached 1.03 billion, a net increase of 357 million. Telecom companies provided more than 100 Internet of Things industry applications and more than 3,000 pan-intelligent terminal products, which continued to penetrate into public utilities, smart transportation, smart communities, smart manufacturing and other fields.

III. Steady progress in “Double G and Double Increase”, with fixed broadband moving towards the Gigabit era

In 2019, under the guidance of the national network power strategy and the special action plan for speeding up and reducing fees, the communications industry continued to accelerate the upgrade of fiber-optic bandwidth, and the access network basically achieved full fiber-opticization, and the network speed-up was effective. By the end of December, the number of Internet broadband access ports reached 916 million, a net increase of 48.26 million from the end of the previous year. Among them, the proportion of fiber-optic access (FTTH/0) ports in Internet access ports reached 91.3%, a slight increase of 0.2 percentage points from the end of the previous year. The total number of fixed Internet broadband access users of the three basic telecommunications companies reached 449 million, a net increase of 41.9 million throughout the year. Among them, there were 417 million fiber-optic access (FTTH/O) users, accounting for 92.9% of the total number of fixed Internet broadband access users, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from the end of the previous year. my country's fiber-optic broadband development maintains a leading position in the world, and the penetration rate of fiber-to-the-home is much higher than the global average (65%).

The deployment of fiber-to-the-home networks has provided a guarantee for the continuous improvement of broadband users' access speed. The "Double G and Double Improvement" work has been steadily advancing, pushing both fixed broadband and mobile broadband into the gigabit era. As of the end of December, the total number of fixed Internet broadband access users with access speeds of 100Mbps and above reached 384 million, accounting for 85.4% of the total number of fixed broadband users, an increase of 15.1 percentage points from the end of the previous year. After the popularization of 100M broadband, improving gigabit network capabilities and expanding the scale of gigabit users have become the next stage of development goals for fixed broadband services. As of the end of 2019, there were 870,000 fixed Internet broadband access users with access speeds of more than 1,000M nationwide.

4. The growth rate of mobile Internet traffic remains high, and short video applications become the main driving force

In 2019, the continuous expansion of online and offline integrated applications such as mobile payment, mobile travel, live video, short video, and food delivery into new models, new business circles, and new consumption was the main reason for the rapid growth of mobile Internet access traffic consumption. Traffic data monitoring by telecommunications companies shows that in 2019, the traffic consumed by mobile users using short video applications such as Douyin and Kuaishou accounted for more than 30%. In 2019, mobile Internet access traffic consumption reached 122 billion GB②, an increase of 71.6% over the previous year. It is still a booster for the stable development of the communications industry. After experiencing a high base number brought about by a three-digit growth rate for 46 consecutive months (from October 2015 to July 2019), the driving force of innovative mobile Internet applications on traffic growth has gradually weakened, and the growth rate has gradually declined.

The average monthly mobile Internet traffic per household (DOU) reached 7.82GB/household/month throughout the year, 1.69 times that of the previous year; the DOU in December was as high as 8.59GB/household/month, ranking among the top in the world. Among them, the DOU in western provinces such as Yunnan, Guizhou, and Qinghai has exceeded 10GB/month/household, and the DOU in Shandong and Sichuan is less than 6GB/month/household, with great room for development. With the integration of 5G with various industries and application innovation, the potential for traffic consumption will be further released. The average traffic consumption of 5G users in South Korea is more than three times that of 4G users.

5. The orderly advancement of 5G network construction and commercialization has strongly supported the digital development of various industries

After 5G was officially put into commercial use at the end of October, the scale of 5G users in my country has expanded rapidly along with the network coverage. By the end of the year, the number of 5G base stations in my country exceeded 130,000, and the scale of users expanded at a rate of one million new users per month. The simultaneous launch of 5G terminals is a guarantee for the good development of 5G. By the end of 2019, 35 5G mobile phones in China had obtained network access licenses, and the domestic market shipments of 5G mobile phones reached 13.77 million, showing a clear growth trend.

5G's high speed, high reliability, and low latency characteristics meet the information transmission needs of billions of devices in the fields of healthcare, autonomous driving, public utilities, smart cities, logistics, etc., and will bring huge development opportunities to the economy and society. The telecommunications industry actively promotes the construction of the 5G ecosystem, strengthens application development in the fields of photography-level video, surveillance-level video, real-time interaction, AR/VR/MR, drones, remote control, robots, etc., explores the value of the industry, and accelerates the extension to home applications, enhances the network connection advantages of mobile communication networks in applications such as smart access control, security door locks, gas detection, smart smoke detection, and electrical fires, and adds more service functions to promote market development.

2020 is the year of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and the final year of the 13th Five-Year Plan. my country's information and communication industry is at a new historical starting point and faces many new requirements, new opportunities and new challenges. The industry will be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, adhere to the new development concept, adhere to the supply-side structural reform as the main line, scientifically grasp the development situation of the industry, continue to deepen the reform of the system and mechanism, accelerate the construction of 5G network, and promote the high-quality development of my country's information and communication industry.

Note:

①All relevant international data are from China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, the same below.

②1GB=1024MB