TECH

China’s Telecom Industry Stalls as Traditional Revenue Dries Up

Published: Jan. 29, 2026 2:20 a.m. GMT+8

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Subway riders browse the internet and make calls on their phones. Photo: VCG

China’s telecommunications industry barely grew in 2025, with revenue expansion stalling as legacy services declined and once-promising digital ventures lost steam.

The sector posted revenue of 1.75 trillion yuan ($251 billion) for the year, up just 0.7% from 2024, according to data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Though topline growth was flat, total telecom business volume — adjusted for constant prices — increased 9.1%.

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China’s telecom sector revenue grew just 0.7% in 2025 to 1.75 trillion yuan ($251 billion), with core services stagnating and digital service growth slowing.
Mobile internet traffic rose 17.3%, but revenue from that segment fell 3.1%; fixed-line broadband revenue increased 5.9%.
Investment in digital infrastructure continued, reaching 4.84 million 5G base stations and 94.4 EFlops in smart computing power, up 87.6% year-on-year.

AI generated, for reference only

What Happened When

2021：: China's telecom sector revenue growth peaked at 8.1%, with business volume growth reaching 28.3%.

2022：: Growth of emerging digital service revenue (cloud computing, big data, etc.) was 32.1%.

2024：: China's telecommunications industry revenue serves as the base year for 2025 growth calculation.

2025：: China’s telecommunications industry posted revenue of 1.75 trillion yuan ($251 billion), up just 0.7% from 2024. Total telecom business volume (constant prices) increased 9.1%. Combined revenue from voice, SMS, and mobile data dropped 0.5%. Mobile internet traffic jumped 17.3% to nearly 396 billion gigabytes, while revenue from data slid 3.1% to 609.7 billion yuan. SMS volumes rose 14.2% but revenue declined 2.4%. Fixed-line broadband revenue climbed 5.9% to 289.6 billion yuan. Revenue from cloud computing, big data, and emerging segments reached 450.8 billion yuan, representing just 4.7% growth, the lowest in five years. China installed 4.84 million 5G base stations by end of year. Deployable smart computing power increased 87.6% year-on-year, topping 94.4 EFlops. China continued investing heavily in digital infrastructure.