Core Insights - The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the "2024 Annual Statistical Data of the Telecommunications Industry," providing a comprehensive overview of the development status of China's telecommunications industry across various dimensions such as telecom users, service usage, communication capacity construction, and service levels [1] Mobile Communication - As of the end of 2024, the total number of mobile phone users in China reached 1.79 billion, with a penetration rate of 127.1 mobile phones per 100 people, indicating a highly saturated mobile communication market [2] - Among the 1.79 billion mobile users, 1.01 billion are 5G users, while 670 million are 4G users, leaving 110 million users still on 2G/3G networks [2] - The net increase in 5G users in 2024 was 192 million, significantly lower than the previous year's increase of 256 million, while 4G users decreased by 113 million, also less than the prior year's decline of 164 million [2] Provincial Insights - Shanghai has the highest mobile phone penetration rate at 193.7 per 100 people, followed by Beijing (189.9) and Zhejiang (144.5), while Tibet has the lowest at 95.5 per 100 people [3] - The average national proportion of 5G users is 56.7%, with 14 provinces above this average, including Ningxia (63.6%), Hainan (62.1%), Qinghai (61.9%), and Tibet (60.5%); Shanghai has the lowest proportion at 47.8% [3] Fixed Broadband - The household internet broadband access penetration rate in China reached 115.9%, indicating saturation in the market [5] - The trend of "100M users decreasing while 1000M users increasing" has slowed down, with a net decrease of 9.22 million users in the 100M to 1000M category in 2024, and a net increase of 43.55 million users in the 1000M category, which is only 60% of the previous year's growth [5] - Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan, and Sichuan lead in the number of gigabit users, while Guizhou has the highest proportion of gigabit users in its overall user base, exceeding 40% [6] Internet TV and Fixed Line - Internet TV user growth shows significant regional differences, with eastern regions experiencing a decline while central and western regions continue to grow [8] - Fixed-line telephone users remain at 166.7 million, with Qinghai and Tibet having the highest penetration rates at 27.2 and 26.3 per 100 people, respectively [8] Business Usage - In 2024, the national mobile internet access traffic grew by 11.6%, with the northeastern region showing the highest growth at 19.1% [10] - Beijing leads in SMS business volume with 281.3 billion messages sent, followed by Guangdong (227.9 billion) and Henan (134.8 billion) [13] Infrastructure Development - As of the end of 2024, China had 12.645 million mobile phone base stations, with 7.112 million being 4G and 4.251 million being 5G [15] - The net increase in 4G and 5G base stations in 2024 was nearly equal, with 817,000 4G stations and 874,000 5G stations added [15]