China Mobile Communications Corp, one of China's three major domestic telecommunications carriers, appears to have gained an upper hand in building a 4G network and in developing the necessary technology to lead the sector.

According to statistics the company released during the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai, China Mobile has become the country's largest 4G telecommunications operator, with its total 4G customer base now topping 200 million, its number of base stations reaching 940,000, and total customer numbers over 1 billion people.

At the end of June, the telecom giant was offered 1,000 different 4G phone models.

Since the company started developing 4G technologies, it has sold more than 210 million 4G mobile phones, with over half of which sold this year.

It measures its success in the market on average revenue per user, or ARPU. and its figures show the larger the number of high-end customers it has, the higher its ARPU reading.

China Mobile has calculated that the ARPU value of its 4G users is 1.5 times that of its average users. Discharge of usage, which refers to one customer's monthly consumption by flow of traffic, is 3.8 times of the average.

"The 4G network and our technology have helped to significantly increase the flow of traffic and the company's income," said Li Huidi, its executive vice-president.

During the first six months of this year, the company's Web browsing business among 4G users increased by 2.6 times year-on-year, video services up by 4.6 times and instant messaging business up 2.8 times, said Li.

Xi Guohua, the chairman, said: "China Mobile may have been disadvantaged during the 3G times. But with all the efforts we have made in the past 12 months, especially during the first half of this year, we now have the confidence to say we have turned the tables and become the industry leader, which is a very cheerful result."

"In the intensely competitive Internet industry, the No 1 player takes all, leaving nothing for the No 2 player," said Xi.

"In this sense, simply following in the footsteps of others is no right path for any company. Constant innovation is the only way out."

China Mobile officials are using the congress to release its NovoNet 2020 Strategy in which the company will develop what it calls a new generation network, which will combine all the latest technologies such as network function virtualization and software defined network.

The company has also started researching the use of a 5G network, they said.

Xi said to realize its goals, China Mobile will attach more importance to three key areas in future: information, capital and logistics.

Many local mobile operators are also driving the move toward 4G by subsidizing the cost of an increasingly wide range of 4G devices, via their retail channels.

shijing@chinadaily.com.cn