China Mobile is the trade name of both China Mobile Limited and its ultimate controlling shareholder, China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd., a Chinese state-owned company. China Mobile Limited provides mobile voice and multimedia services through its nationwide mobile telecommunications network across mainland China and Hong Kong. China Mobile Limited is listed on both the NYSE and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It is the largest mobile telecommunications corporation by market capitalisation, and also the world's largest mobile network operator by total number of subscribers, with over 902 million subscribers as of 2018., China Mobile Limited's total market value stood at RMB 1.57 trillion.
The company likely enjoys substantial protectionist 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, that owns 100 percent ownership of China Mobile 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 as of 2011.
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 to 97% of the Chinese population, and the company has since seen a sustained stream of new, rural mobile customers. It also offers services targeted at the rural market including an agricultural information service, which facilitates a variety of activities such as the sale and purchase of agricultural products, access to market prices for produce and crops, wire transfers, bank withdrawals, and payments, etc.
Overseas activities
The company branched out in 2007 with the purchase of Paktel in Pakistan launching the Zong brand there a year later. In 2013, China Mobile eyed expansion into Myanmar expressing interest in bidding for one of two licences on offer in a partnership with Vodafone although this plan ultimately fell through.
Domestic acquisitions
In May 2008, the company took over China Tietong, 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: Marketed as "G3", the company controls 70% of the Chinese mobile market but a far smaller percentage of the 3G market., its nearly 60 million 3G subscribers account for roughly 9% of its total subscriber base, which is an increase from 3% in 2010. Its 3G network, still under construction in 2010, utilizes the TD-SCDMA standard, which China Mobile helped develop. 3G service is available in all of the 4 direct-controlled municipalities and most of the 283 prefecture-level cities in China as of 2010. ;4G: Marketed as "and和", as of 2010, China Mobile has debuted small-scale 4G demonstration networks using a variant of 3GPP's Long Term Evolution, TD-LTE, and has plans for larger, citywide demonstration networks in the future., such networks are in operation.
Frequency
Frequency Width
Protocol
Band
Notes
900 MHz
14x2MHz + 5 MHz
GSM/LTE
8
Effective after 4Q19
1800 MHz
2x25MHz
GSM/LTE
3
1900 MHz
40 MHz
TD-LTE
39
2.3 GHz
50 MHz
TD-LTE
40
indoor only
2.6 GHz
100 MHz
5G NR/TD-LTE
41
Trial until June-2020
4.9 GHz
100 MHz
5G NR
Trial until June-2020
While prior iPhone models couldn't use the China Mobile network due to the chipset relying on WCDMA-based networks, talks to carry the then unreleased 4G iPhone began in mid-2012. The iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s were sold through China Mobile starting in January 2014. ;Everest: In 2003 and again in 2007, China Mobile provided mobile services on Mount Everest. ;Spratly Isles coverage: In May 2011, China Mobile announced its network now includes the controversial Spratly Islands.
In October 2014, Nokia and China Mobile signed a $970 million framework deal for delivery between 2014 and 2015.
Service brands
China Mobile uses other names to differentiate its offerings.
Mainland China
Mobile services are available in Mainland China under several brands as of 2007., the below brands are scheduled to be slowly phased out and replaced by an all-encompassing new brand name—And—whose logo combines an exclamation point, the Chinese character for "peace", as well as the English word "and". ;Easyown: : a basic prepaid mobile phone service more heavily marketed in rural areas ;GoTone: : subscription flagship brand ;M-zone: : a premium prepaid service popular with youths ;G3: A 3G service brand ;and!和: A 4G/LTE service brand.
Zong is China Mobile's brand in Pakistan and is operated by China Mobile Pakistan, a subsidiary. It offers GSM, GPRS, EDGE, HSPA+, FDD-LTE
United Kingdom
In December 2017, China Mobile launched a MVNO service in the UK called CMLink. CMLink is aimed at the Chinese population living in the UK and Chinese visitors and students. Plans include free calls to China Mobile phones in China.
