BEIJING - China's Internet of Things (IoT) business has been flourishing over the years, with revenue rising around 73 percent in 2018 from a year earlier, according to a report from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The country's three major telecom service operators -- China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom -- saw their IoT users increase by 400 million in 2018, bringing the total number of to 671 million at the end of last year.

Tech and internet giants such as Huawei and Alibaba also entered the industry, which made IoT part of ordinary people's lives, said the report.

Buoyed by 4G and artificial intelligence technologies, the IoT industry has entered a "golden age," said the report.

The fast growth of the IoT market in China is also due to a rise in use of smartphones, widespread usage of the internet, cost reduction, infrastructural advantage and supply and demand drive.