The operating data of the three major operators in 2018, how did they perform this year?

2018 has passed. This year was a year of hard work in the communications industry. Speeding up and reducing fees, mixed-ownership reform, and building 5G... We were very busy. There is a reward for every effort, and the operating data of the three major operators for the whole year have all been released. Let's take a look at their performance.

Let's start with mobile. The past 2018 was undoubtedly a historic year for China Mobile. It officially became the king of fixed-line broadband, and it has the three best in the industry: mobile users, 4G users, and broadband users. China Telecom has made steady progress. Although it lags behind in the broadband market, its mobile users have exceeded 300 million, just one step away from China Unicom; 4G users have an average of more than 5 million net increases per month. China Unicom, which has been busy with mixed reform, achieved a major turnaround in 4G business in the first half of 2018 with various "king cards", but it is a little regretful in broadband business.

December *** Finale

As the last month of 2018, the three major operators have all made every effort to "boost performance".

According to the data, in December, China Mobile's net increase in mobile users was 2.96 million, reaching a total of 925.069 million; China Telecom's net increase in mobile users in December was 3.22 million, reaching a total of 303 million; China Unicom's net increase in mobile users in December was about 2.034 million, reaching a total of about 315 million. The increase in mobile users of the three operators in the first month was higher than that in November.

As for 4G users, there was a slight increase compared to November. China Mobile's 4G users increased by 8.149 million in December, reaching a total of 712.65 million; China Telecom's 4G users increased by 4.63 million in December, reaching a total of 242.43 million.

China Unicom's net increase in 4G users in December was 2.53 million, reaching a total of about 220 million. China Mobile's net increase was more than 900,000 more than China Telecom and China Unicom combined.

Compared with the closure of mobile and 4G services, the broadband services of the three major operators are slightly bleak. The net increase in users of the three operators has declined to varying degrees. In December, China Mobile's wired customers increased by 2.42 million, with a total of 156.69 million. China Telecom's wired broadband users increased by 550,000 in December, with a total of 145.79 million. China Unicom's fixed-line broadband users showed negative growth, with a net decrease of 221,000 in December, with a total of 80.88 million.

Overall, the three major operators all achieved good results in December, bringing a perfect end to 2018.

4G market competition

In 2018, the three major operators were engaged in a fierce battle in the 4G market. If the "dragon" was China Mobile, then the "tiger" was China Unicom.

In the first half of the year, the development momentum of China Unicom's 4G business can be said to be extremely strong. With the support of various Internet cards, China Unicom's momentum once surpassed China Mobile. According to statistics, Tencent King Card products alone brought more than 80 million new users to Unicom and Tencent. However, this situation took a sharp turn for the worse after May, and the situation did not improve until the last month of 2018. According to C114 statistics, China Unicom's 4G users only increased by an average of 3.756 million per month, ranking last among the three operators.

Industry insiders said that the continuously declining data has undoubtedly sounded the alarm for China Unicom. The Wangka effect that it once prided itself on is fading, and it is time for China Unicom to find another door to open user growth.

Data shows that in 2018, China Mobile's 4G users increased by an average of 5.262 million per month, ranking first. Shang Bing, chairman of China Mobile, said at the 2018 MWC that it would accelerate the evolution of 4G networks and the integration of TDD/FDD, and strive to achieve a TD-LTE user base of more than 700 million in 2018. As early as October, China Mobile's 4G users reached 700.369 million, and by the end of 2018, it reached 712.65 million, exceeding the annual target.

For China Telecom, it faces two huge challenges in 4G business, namely China Mobile and China Unicom. However, China Telecom has always firmly put quality first. Although it has launched "unlimited traffic" packages, it has not blindly pursued low rates. Large traffic packages are not price war products. China Telecom believes that packages can meet social needs and promote information consumption.

On the other hand, it is a response to the country's policy of increasing speed and reducing fees, emphasizing that large-data packages can release price elasticity and drive growth, which is a good thing. This strategy has also made China Telecom's 4G business steady and progressive. The average monthly net increase in China Telecom's 4G users is 5.032 million, which has remained at a relatively good level throughout the year.

In the context of the increasingly fading demographic dividend, it is not easy for the three major operators to achieve such results, which is worthy of encouragement.

Broadband market changes

The broadband market has completely changed in 2018. Since surpassing China Telecom in September, China Mobile has been on a roll and has established a firm foothold in the broadband market. *** Data shows that China Mobile has 156.69 million broadband users; China Telecom has 145.79 million broadband users; and China Unicom has 80.88 million broadband users.

According to C114 statistics, China Mobile had an average net increase of 3.67 million broadband users per month in 2018; China Telecom had an average net increase of 976,000 broadband users per month in 2018; and China Unicom had an average net increase of 362,000 broadband users per month in 2018.

When the latest month's operating data was released, China Telecom updated the cumulative number of its private and listed wireline broadband users, totaling 170 million. China Telecom has always emphasized its overall number of broadband users. Based on this set of data, it can be concluded that China Telecom seems to still be a giant in the fixed-line market, but it still cannot change the fact that China Mobile is already the leader in the broadband market.

It took China Mobile less than a year to go from being laughed at for its wishful thinking to taking the throne of the fixed-line market. China Mobile won the first place in the fixed-line market, which made China Unicom and China Telecom, the former two leaders of fixed-line home broadband, turn around and fight with China Mobile. For this reason, China Telecom also set up a separate smart home branch.

The former king has passed away, but for China Telecom, it is a blessing in disguise. Looking back at the whole year of 2018, in the fixed-line broadband market, China Telecom's development is not slow, but it can be said that China Mobile's development is too fast in comparison. Although China Telecom did not excel in the scale of incremental users, it maintained its absolute position as the leader in broadband revenue.

China Unicom, which is at a weaker position in the fixed-line market, should actively respond to this unfavorable situation and make full use of the opportunity of mixed ownership reform to tap the potential of broadband networks, cooperate with OTT service providers in fixed-line broadband services, explore new business models of win-win cooperation, open up the value chain, and build win-win cooperation. It should be noted that the broadband market is an important guarantee for business growth and an important base for operators to develop smart homes and launch emerging businesses.