Cellular News reports that china mobile, that country's number one operator, recently announced that its subscriber base had hit 301 million, larger than the entire population of the United States. And this from a company that was formally founded in 2000. It's no wonder, then, that the big handset makers are pouring so much time and attention into serving this emerging market.
It's even more intriguing when you look at the economics. While mobile services cost less in China (20% of what the average US mobile account costs according to the report), income is even lower in a comparative basis to the US (around $1,700 a year for the average Chinese, vs. $44,000 for Americans). Therefore, the average Chinese subscriber spends about 7% of his or her monthly income on mobile services. Americans could buy a cheap PC each month if they spent the same percentage.
What do you do with this much people power as a mobile nation? Start making some noise about your own technology! China is doing just that, clamoring for its flavor of 4G network technology to be adopted as the global standard.
Get ready to taste a Chinese flavor to mobile devices, services and standards in coming years!
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