The number of broadband mobile internet users — 3G and 4G services – in China reached 674 million by the end of June, accounting for 52.1 percent of all mobile phone users, according to the ministry of industry and information technology (MIIT).
For comparison, India is projected to have 236 million mobile internet users – 2G, 3G and 4G — by 2016 and 314 million by 2017, according to KPMG.
China added 24.69 million 4G subscribers in June to 225 million, the statement added. India does not have 1 million 4G users. Bharti Airtel is the only 4G service provider in India. Reliance Jio Infocomm is expected to launch 4G broadband by December-end.
The 3G user base in India is set to grow at a CAGR of 61.3 percent from 2013-17. There were approximately 82 million 3G subscribers in India by the end of year 2014 and the number is projected to reach 284 million by end of year 2017, said KPMG.
The number of mobile phone users in China accounted for 94.5 percent of its total population by the end of June.
In the first half, China added 6.88 million new mobile phone users, bringing the country’s total mobile phone users to 1.29 billion. The ratio of mobile phone users to population was higher than 100 percent in nine provincial-level regions, including Beijing, Shanghai, as well as provinces of Guangdong and Zhejiang.
Baburajan K
editor@telecomlead.com