Tired of ads? Enjoy an ad-free experience by signing up.
C. Custer · · 1 min read

China Unicom Adds 3 Million New 3G Subscribers in August

4G? We don’t need no stinkin’ 4G! Despite the impressive development of China Mobile’s superfast 4G TD-LTE network, 3G remains the fastest commercially available mobile connection in China. Moreover, China’s 3G network continues to grow with impressive speed. Case in point: China Unicom added more than three million new 3G subscribers in August alone, bringing the company to a total of more than 66 million 3G users.

Unicom also picked up some new 2G users in August, but with just 336,000 new accounts, it’s clear that new 3G subscribers are growing much faster than new 2G subscribers. 3G still has a long way to go, though; China Unicom has more than 162 million 2G-only subscribers. This number is part of the reason China’s government is delaying the release of a 4G network; it wants to see 3G networks more widely adopted first.

Unicom also offers internet service; and unsurprisingly dial-up connections dropped in August by 167,000 accounts, while broadband accounts jumped 647,000. Here too, though, there is still a ways to go. In total Unicom still has more than 92 million dial-up users and just 62 million broadband users.

[Via Sina Tech, Image Source]

Stay ahead in Asia’s tech landscape

You've reached your 2 free content limit for the month. Sign up for free to read the full story.

🏄 For casual readers / 👶 Free

Basic

US$0

Free forever

Get instant access to this article and more every month

0 premium content

Unlimited news briefs

5

5 articles

Ad-free reading experience

Just US$0 per day

⌛Sign up in 20s. No payment details needed.

📖 For learners / 👍 Starter

Lite

US$4.92/month

Billed annually at US$59/year

Get instant access to this article and more every month

4

4 premium content

Unlimited news briefs & articles

Ad-free reading experience

Just US$0.17 per day

Cancel anytime

Our subscriber community includes professionals from these companies:

Stay updated on the go with our mobile app.

Get latest insights with smoother, more personalized experience through TIA mobile app.

Community Writer

C. Custer

Former editor and motion graphics artist for Tech in Asia. Currently content marketer at Dataquest.io