Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: In the first quarter, the total volume and revenue of China's telecommunications services increased by 7.7% and 0.7% year-on-year, respectively.

On April 24, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the economic performance of the communication industry in the first quarter of 2025. In the first quarter, the overall operation of the communication industry was stable, with the volume of telecommunication business maintaining growth, orderly progress in the construction of new infrastructure, and continuous expansion of user base for 5G, gigabit, and Internet of Things. The access flow of mobile internet continued to grow rapidly. In the first quarter, the cumulative revenue of telecommunication services reached 446.9 billion yuan, an increase of 0.7% year-on-year. Calculated at constant prices from the previous year, the total volume of telecommunication services increased by 7.7%. Original text: First-quarter Economic Performance of the Communication Industry in 2025 In the first quarter, the communication industry operated steadily overall, with the volume of telecommunication business maintaining growth, orderly progress in the construction of new infrastructure, continuous expansion of user base for 5G, gigabit, and Internet of Things, and rapid growth in mobile internet access flow. I. Overall Operation The telecommunication business was generally stable. In the first quarter, the cumulative revenue of telecommunication services reached 446.9 billion yuan, an increase of 0.7% year-on-year. Calculated at constant prices from the previous year, the total volume of telecommunication services increased by 7.7%. Figure 1: Cumulative Growth Rate of Telecommunication Revenue and Total Volume of Telecommunication Services II. Development of Telecommunication Users The number of fixed broadband access users steadily increased, with the number of gigabit users continuously expanding. As of the end of March, the total number of fixed internet broadband access users of the three basic telecommunication companies reached 678 million households, a net increase of 8.218 million households from the end of the previous year. Among them, the number of fixed internet broadband access users with access speeds of 100Mbps and above reached 644 million households, accounting for 95% of the total users; the number of fixed internet broadband access users with access speeds of 1000Mbps and above reached 218 million households, with a net increase of 11.03 million households from the end of the previous year, accounting for 32.1% of the total users, an increase of 1.2 percentage points from the end of the previous year. The scale of mobile phone users remained stable with an increase, and 5G users accounted for nearly 60%. As of the end of March, the total number of mobile phone users of the three basic telecommunication companies and China Radio and Television reached 1.8 billion, a net increase of 9.945 million from the end of the previous year. Among them, the number of 5G mobile phone users reached 1.068 billion, a net increase of 54.45 million from the end of the previous year, accounting for 59.4% of mobile phone users. The number of cellular Internet of Things users grew rapidly, and the number of Internet TV (IPTV, OTT) users steadily increased. As of the end of March, the three basic telecommunication companies developed a total of 2.728 billion cellular Internet of Things terminal users, a net increase of 72.18 million from the end of the previous year. The number of Internet TV (IPTV, OTT) users reached 410 million households, a net increase of 2.23 million from the end of the previous year. III. Use of Telecommunication Services Mobile internet traffic increased rapidly, reaching a record high in March. In the first quarter, the cumulative mobile internet traffic reached 876.5 billion GB, an increase of 14.8% year-on-year. As of the end of March, the number of mobile internet users reached 1.577 billion households, a net increase of 6.759 million from the end of the previous year. In March, the average monthly mobile internet access traffic per user (DOU) reached 20.56GB/household, an increase of 13.7% year-on-year, and 0.86GB/household higher than the end of the previous year. Telephone call volume continued to decline, while mobile SMS business volume maintained rapid growth. In the first quarter, the total mobile phone call duration reached 496.1 billion minutes, a decrease of 5.9% year-on-year; the total outgoing call duration of fixed phones reached 16.82 billion minutes, a decrease of 5.3% year-on-year. In the first quarter, national mobile SMS business volume increased by 21.2% year-on-year; mobile SMS business revenue increased by 0.7% year-on-year. IV. Communication Capacity The total length of optical cable lines steadily increased. As of the end of March, the total length of national optical cable lines reached 74.54 million kilometers, an increase of 13.7% year-on-year. Among them, the proportions of access network optical cables, local network trunk optical cables, and long-distance optical cable lines were 59.2%, 39.3%, and 1.5%, respectively. The construction of gigabit fiber broadband networks steadily progressed. As of the end of March, the total number of internet broadband access ports in the country reached 1.224 billion, a net increase of 21.91 million from the end of the previous year. Among them, the number of fiber optic access (FTTH/O) ports reached 1.18 billion, a net increase of 20.85 million from the end of the previous year, accounting for 96.5% of internet broadband access ports. As of the end of March, the number of 10G PON ports capable of providing gigabit network services reached 29.25 million, a net increase of 1.049 million from the end of the previous year. The service capabilities of 5G networks continued to upgrade. As of the end of March, the total number of 5G base stations reached 4.395 million, a net increase of 145,000 from the end of the previous year, accounting for 34.4% of mobile base stations, an increase of 0.8 percentage points from the end of the previous year. V. Regional Development The penetration rates of gigabit and 5G users in various regions continued to increase. As of the end of March, the penetration rates of 1000Mbps and above fixed broadband access users in the eastern, central, western, and northeastern regions were 32.5%, 32.4%, 32.9%, and 24.9%, respectively, an increase of 1.2%, 1.3%, 1.2%, and 1.3% from the end of the previous year; the penetration rates of 5G mobile phone users were 59.2%, 59.9%, 59.3%, and 59.2%, respectively, an increase of 2.5%, 2.7%, 2.9%, and 2.9% from the end of the previous year. The growth rates of mobile internet access traffic in various regions remained at double-digit levels. In the first quarter, the mobile internet access traffic in the eastern, central, western, and northeastern regions reached 36.69 billion GB, 20.69 billion GB, 25.26 billion GB, and 5.01 billion GB, respectively, an increase of 13.7%, 15.3%, 14.2%, and 23.4% year-on-year. This article is taken from the "MIIT Weibo" official WeChat account; edited by GMTEight: Chen Xiaoyi.