China Mobile

As of July 2013, China Mobile is the world's largest mobile phone operator by subscribers with about 740 million.^[8]

A state-owned enterprise directly controlled by the government of the People's Republic of China ^[5] and also a public company that is listed on the NYSE and the Hong Kong stock exchanges,^[2] 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.^[9] China Unicom and China Telecom have 20% and 10% shares, respectively.^[9]

Incorporated in 1997 as China Telecom (Hong Kong) Limited, China Mobile was born from the 1999 break-up of China Telecom.^[10] (This company continues to provide mobile services, however.^[9] )

State controledit

China Mobile likely enjoys substantial protectionist benefits from China's government^[11] but also experiences frequent government intervention in its business affairs.^[12] 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,^[13] which in turn holds over seventy percent ownership of China Mobile–the remainder being controlled by public investors.^[2] Established in 2000,^[13] CMCC is China Mobile Ltd's current parent company as of 2011.^[14]

Rural subscriber baseedit

China Mobile has historically held a greater share of the rural market than competitors.^[16] By 2006, its network had expanded to provide reception to 97% of the Chinese population,^[17] and the company has since seen a sustained stream of new, rural mobile customers.^[16]

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.^[18]

Overseas activitiesedit

China Mobile expanded overseas in 2007 with the purchase of Paktel in Pakistan ^[19] launching the ZONG brand there a year later.^[20]

In February 2013, China Mobile together with Vodafone, has participated in bidding for one of the two newly opened Myanmar Mobile licences.^[21]

Domestic acquisitionsedit

In May 2008, the company took over China Tietong, a fixed-line telecom^[22] and the then third-largest broadband ISP in China,^[23] adding Internet services to its core business of mobile services.

Networkedit

China Mobile operates a GSM network,^[24] which encompasses all 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and directly administered municipalities in Mainland China and includes Hong Kong, too.^[2] GPRS is utilized for data transmission.^[25]

Its 3G network, still under construction in 2010, utilizes the TD-SCDMA standard,^[27] 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.^[27]

While prior iPhone models couldn't use the China Mobile network because it relies on a China-only 3G standard, talks to carry the then unreleased 4G Apple iPhone (iPhone 5) began in mid-2012.^[26]

China Mobile uses other names to differentiate its offerings.

Mainland Chinaedit

China Mobile offers mobile services in Mainland China under several brands.^[30]

Hong Kongedit

Pakistanedit