China’s telecommunications sector showed stable growth in the first 11 months of 2025, generating 1.6 trillion yuan (approximately $228 billion) in revenue. According to official data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, this figure is 0.9% higher than the same period last year. The growth in the sector is mainly driven by the expansion of 5G infrastructure, gigabit optical networks, and Internet of Things (IoT) projects.
As of the end of November, the number of 5G base stations installed in China reached 4.8 million, while the total number of 5G users was 1.2 billion, representing 65.3% of the country’s mobile subscribers. However, experts note that these figures include both users with 5G-enabled devices and those using only 5G data plans, so there may be some discrepancies in actual usage.
Currently, China’s main mobile operators are heavily investing in the transition to 5G-Advanced (5G-A), a more advanced version of 5G technology. By the end of 2025, the goal is to deploy this network in more than 330 cities. In cities such as Shenzhen and Hangzhou, this high-speed internet is already being used for drone services and low-altitude flight management.
The adoption of new technologies also contributes to energy efficiency. Liquid cooling systems used in data centers and base stations can reduce energy costs by up to 30%, lowering operating expenses during network infrastructure upgrades.
