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China exceeds 166m mobile users

Fran Foo and Hu Hai Wei, CNETAsia CNet

Published: 21 May 2002 12:24 BST

The number of mobile phone users in China hit 167 million this April, an increase of six million subscribers from the previous month.

According to China's Ministry of Information Industry, the latest user base represents a mobile phone penetration rate of 13 percent. The Ministry's statistics also indicate that another 1.1 billion Chinese nationals do not use a mobile phone.

China now leads as the world's No.1 mobile phone market, with the U.S. trailing in second place with 136 million subscribers. China Mobile is the country's largest wireless carrier with over 100 million users.

The country's telecommunications sector is undergoing massive liberalisation, a move predicated by market analysts and industry watchers following its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO). Last Thursday, for instance, Chinese officials split government-owned China Telecom into two.

CNETAsia's Fran Foo reported from Singapore. Additional reporting by Hu Hai Wei in Beijing.

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