China Mobile Limited is a Chinese
state-ownedA government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government...
telecommunication company that provides mobile voice and multimedia services through its nationwide mobile telecommunications network, the largest of its kind in the world. Also the most valuable mobile telecommunications company in the world, it is listed on both the NYSE and the
Hong Kong stock exchangeThe Hong Kong Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Hong Kong. It is Asia's third largest stock exchange in terms of market capitalization behind the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Shanghai Stock Exchange and fifth largest in the world...
.
As of March 2011, China Mobile is the
world's largest mobile phone operator with over 600 million subscribers.
History
A
state-owned enterpriseA government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government...
directly controlled by the government of the
People's Republic of ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
and also a
public companyThis is not the same as a Government-owned corporation.A public company or publicly traded company is a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets...
that is listed on the NYSE and the Hong Kong stock exchanges, China Mobile has dominated Chinese mobile services since its inception. As of 2010 China Mobile controls the vast majority of its domestic mobile services market with a 70% market share.
China UnicomChina Unicom or China United Netcom Ltd , is a Chinese state-owned telecommunications operator in the People's Republic of China.-History:...
and
China TelecomChina Telecom Corp. Ltd. is a Chinese state-owned telecommunication company. It is the largest fixed line service and 3rd largest mobile telecommunication provider in the People's Republic of China.-Sectors:...
have 20% and 10% shares, respectively.
Incorporated in 1997 as China Telecom (Hong Kong) Limited, China Mobile was born from the 1999 break-up of
China TelecomChina Telecom Corp. Ltd. is a Chinese state-owned telecommunication company. It is the largest fixed line service and 3rd largest mobile telecommunication provider in the People's Republic of China.-Sectors:...
. (This company continues to provide mobile services, however.)
State control
China Mobile likely enjoys substantial
protectionistProtectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
benefits from China's government, but also experiences frequent government intervention in its business affairs. Government control is maintained through a presumably government-owned holding company, China Mobile Communications Corporation (CMCC), that owns 100 percent ownership of China Mobile (HK) Group Limited, which in turn holds over seventy percent ownership of China Mobile–the remainder being controlled by public investors. Established in 2000, CMCC is China Mobile Ltd's current parent company.
Rural subscriber base
China Mobile has historically held a greater share of the rural market than competitors. By 2006, its network had expanded to provide reception for 97% of the Chinese population, and the company has since seen a sustained stream of new, rural mobile customers.
China Mobile also offers information services targeted at the rural market, including the Agricultural Information Service, which allows a variety of activities to take place through the use of mobile phones and the Internet. These include the sale and purchase of agricultural products, access to market prices for produce, wire transfers, bank withdrawals and payments, etc.
Overseas activities
China Mobile expanded overseas in 2007 with the purchase of
Paktel-CMPak:China Mobile Pakistan is a 100% subsidiary of China Mobile, a Chinese state-owned enterprise. China Mobile bought the company from Millicom via an acquisition of a license from Millicom to operate a GSM network in Pakistan....
in
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
launching the
ZONGZONG is the first international brand of China Mobile, launched in Pakistan in 2008. The company is often cited as China Mobile .In October 2011, ZONG signed a three-year partnership deal with the English football club Manchester United F.C....
brand there a year later.
Domestic acquisitions
In May 2008, the company took over
China TietongChina Tietong Telecommunications Corporation is a major state-owned basic telecommunications operator in China...
, a fixed-line telecom and the then third-largest broadband ISP in China, adding Internet services to its core business of mobile services.
Network
China Mobile operates a GSM network, which encompasses all 31 provinces, autonomous regions and directly administered municipalities in Mainland China and includes Hong Kong, too. GPRS is utilized for data transmission.
3G:
The company controls 70% of the Chinese mobile market, but a far smaller percentage of the
3G3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
market. As of 2010 97% of China Mobile subscribers used its
2G2G is short for second-generation wireless telephone technology. Second generation 2G cellular telecom networks were commercially launched on the GSM standard in Finland by Radiolinja in 1991...
services. Its 3G network, still under construction in 2010, utilizes the
TD-SCDMATime Division Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access or UTRA/UMTS-TDD 1.28 Mcps Low Chip Rate , is an air interface found in UMTS mobile telecommunications networks in China as an alternative to W-CDMA. Together with TD-CDMA, it is also known as UMTS-TDD or IMT 2000 Time-Division .The term...
standard, which China Mobile helped develop. 3G service is available in all of the 4
direct-controlled municipalitiesA direct-controlled municipality is the highest level classification for cities used by unitary state, with status equal to that of the provinces in the respective countries...
and most of the 283 prefecture-level cities in China as of 2010.
4G:
As of 2010, China Mobile has debuted small-scale 4G demonstration networks using a variant of
3GPP Long Term Evolution3GPP Long Term Evolution, usually referred to as LTE, is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. It is based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies, increasing the capacity and speed using new modulation techniques...
, TD-LTE, and has plans for larger, city-wide demonstration networks in the future.
Everest:
In 2003 and again in 2007, China Mobile provided mobile services on
Mount EverestMount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
.
Spratly Isles coverage:
In May 2011, China Mobile announced its network now includes the controversial
Spratly IslandsThe Spratly Islands are a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atolls, cays and islands in the South China Sea. The archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines and Malaysia , about one third of the way from there to southern Vietnam. They comprise less than four square kilometers of land...
.
Mainland China
China Mobile offers mobile services in Mainland China under several brands.
- Easyown (Chinese
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 神州行, Hanyu Pinyin: Shénzhōuxíng) a basic prepaid mobile phone service that is more heavily marketed in rural areas
- GoTone (Chinese
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 全球通, Hanyu Pinyin: Quánqiútōng) the flagship brand
- M-zone (Chinese
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
: 动感地带, Hanyu Pinyin: Dònggǎndìdài) a premium prepaid service, targeting the youth demographic
Hong Kong
- Peoples
China Mobile Hong Kong Company Limited , formerly China Resources Peoples Telephone Company Limited and China Mobile Peoples Telephone Company Limited , is one of the mobile communication operators in Hong Kong, China....
is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Mobile (Hong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
) Limited. It offers GSM, GPRS and EDGE- Aviation :* Leading edge, a line connecting the forward-most points of a wing's profile* Trailing edge, the rear edge of the wing* Zivko Edge 540, an aerobatic aircraft- Mathematics, science and technology :...
technologies to customers in this Special Administrative RegionHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
.
Pakistan
- ZoNG
ZONG is the first international brand of China Mobile, launched in Pakistan in 2008. The company is often cited as China Mobile .In October 2011, ZONG signed a three-year partnership deal with the English football club Manchester United F.C....
is China Mobile's brand in Pakistan and is operated by China Mobile Pakistan (CMPak), a subsidiary.
External links