China's 5G users near 1.3 billion, mobile data DOU hits record 24 GB

By end-May 2026, China's 5G mobile subscribers reached 1.275 billion, accounting for 69.3% of total mobile users. Mobile internet traffic in the first five months rose 17.9% YoY, and the May average data usage per user (DOU) reached a record 24.01 GB. Telecom service revenue totaled 735.5 billion yuan, down 1.9% YoY.

Source: 上海市通信管理局

Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that in January-May 2026, telecom service revenue edged down year-on-year, while total business volume calculated at constant prices maintained growth. During the period, the user bases of 5G, gigabit optical fiber, and the Internet of Things continued to expand, with notable growth in mobile internet traffic.

By the end of May, the total number of 5G base stations nationwide had surpassed 5.053 million, a net increase of 214,000 this year, accounting for 39% of all mobile base stations. 5G mobile subscribers rose to 1.275 billion, up by 70.77 million from the end of last year, representing 69.3% of total mobile phone users, which reached 1.841 billion.

In fixed broadband, gigabit-capable penetration deepened further. Users with access speeds of 1000 Mbps or above numbered 255 million, a net addition of 16.85 million, accounting for 36.5% of total fixed broadband users, up 2 percentage points from end-2025. Optical fiber ports made up 96.7% of all broadband ports, while the number of 10G PON ports reached 32.57 million.

On data usage, cumulative mobile internet traffic in the first five months hit 181.2 billion GB, up 17.9% year-on-year. In May alone, the monthly average data usage per mobile internet subscriber (DOU) reached 24.01 GB, a 12.7% increase YoY and 0.97 GB higher than end-2025. Cellular IoT terminal users grew to 2.98 billion, rising by 91.67 million year-to-date.

In contrast, traditional voice and SMS services continued to decline. Mobile outgoing call duration in January-May was 789.7 billion minutes, down 6.1% YoY; fixed-line outgoing call duration dropped 21.2%. Mobile SMS business volume fell 7.4% YoY, while SMS revenue decreased 12.6%.

Regionally, 5G and gigabit broadband penetration improved across all areas. The central region led with 70.1% 5G user share, while the western region had the highest gigabit broadband penetration at 38.1%. Mobile internet traffic grew fastest in the east at 19.5% YoY, closely followed by the northeast at 19.3%.