China Telecom released its key operating data for the second quarter of 2026 recently. During the period, the carrier added a net 1.88 million mobile subscribers, bringing its total mobile user base to 442.43 million. Among them, 5G network users grew by a net 8.37 million in the quarter, reaching 322.50 million, with penetration rising to 72.9%.
On the fixed broadband front, the company lost a net 280,000 subscribers, trimming its total broadband user count to 201.28 million, while gigabit broadband penetration stood at 34.3%.
Notably, China Telecom's first-half 2026 earnings report revealed that its 5G-Advanced subscribers had reached 4.68 million. The company said it is accelerating the expansion and upgrade of next-generation infrastructure, pushing ahead with 5G-A network enhancements, and has deployed over 150,000 carrier aggregation sites and more than 700,000 RedCap sites on a large scale.