China Mobile: subscribers up, revenue per user down

China Mobile expects to continue adding four to five million new subscribers every month, but with most of these new customers coming from rural areas, average revenue per user (ARPU) will decline, according to the company's chairman and chief executive. Wang Jianzhou, who is also CEO of China Mobile's state-owned parent company, told the Wall Street Journal Tuesday that they would try to make up the shortfall by selling more expensive data services to urban customers. China Mobile currently draws an average of US$11 per month from each of its users. It had 316.12 million subscribers at the end of March and a market value of about US$185 billion, making it the world's biggest wireless company and second largest telecom company. Wang also said that China Mobile's revenues were being pulled down by increased competition from internet-based phones services.