China Mobile recently released its 2024 mid-year performance report. During the period, China Mobile's revenue reached RMB 546.7 billion, an increase of 3.0% year-on-year. Among this, the main business revenue was RMB 463.6 billion, an increase of 2.5% year-on-year. The net profit attributable to the shareholders of the parent company was RMB 80.2 billion, an increase of 5.3%, with basic earnings per share of RMB 3.75.
In the first half of the year, China Mobile actively built a smart home ecosystem of "Full Gigabit + Cloud Life" under the leadership of the "Mobile Home" brand. They strengthened their existing operations and integrated operations, actively creating new growth points such as FTTR and HDICT (Home Digitalization Solutions), leading to significant growth in the home market. Among them, FTTR customers reached 5.05 million households, an increase of nearly 300% year-on-year.
In the first half of the year, China Mobile's home market revenue reached RMB 69.8 billion, an increase of 7.5% year-on-year; home broadband customers reached 272 million households, a net increase of 8.48 million households, leading the industry in scale. The penetration rate of gigabit home broadband customers reached 33.5%, an increase of 3.5 percentage points from the end of 2023. Mobile HD customers reached 208 million, with revenue reaching RMB 15.1 billion, an increase of 5.7% year-on-year; intelligent networking customers reached 152 million households; home security customers reached 58.64 million households.
FTTR customers reached 5.05 million households, an increase of 296.4% year-on-year; HDICT service customers reached 35.52 million households, an increase of 70.1% year-on-year. The comprehensive ARPU for home customers reached RMB 43.4, an increase of 0.2% year-on-year.
FTTR is gradually becoming the ultimate solution for home networks. In the broadband access market, operators face challenges such as severe homogenization competition and insufficient pipeline application fill. FTTR, with its faster and more stable network, can better support the development and evolution of smart home services and offers new business growth points for operators.
Data shows that as of the first half of the year, the combined total of China Unicom's mobile and broadband users exceeded 460 million, with a net increase of nearly 10 million, marking a three-year high. Among them, FTTR users exceeded 9.05 million, achieving global leadership in scale.
At the 2024 mid-year performance report briefing, China Mobile’s Deputy General Manager Zhang Dong stated that in the home market, China Mobile is focusing on "One Cable, One Network, and One Family." "One Cable" refers to enhancing household connectivity through whole-house WiFi, gigabit broadband, and FTTR; "One Network" consolidates the five technical capabilities of storage, computing power, video, sensing, and control; "One Family" revolves around deploying a series of products in entertainment, health, education, life, and security. In the "stock era," they have an "incremental mindset," seeking new spaces, engines, and paths.
Ao Li, Chief Engineer of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, pointed out that the three major operators all anchor on smart homes, aiming to form a trillion-level market within five years. Sustainable Wi-Fi services based on FTTR can match diversified value-added business scenarios. The integration of broadband networks with cloud and AI technology applications supports the formation of an AI-based smart home strategy, which has become a focus of attention for operators.