China Unicom launched iPhones at the end of last month, and such smartphones are expected to boost the operator's 3G business in the fourth quarter, according to the chairman Chang Xiaobing, who hoped that his company's 3G users would surge by 1 million monthly in a certain period to come. However, analysts believed that China Unicom's high service prices and high-end strategy would somewhat decelerate its 3G development.

In addition, the company saw the number of its 2G users grow 935,000 month on month to 143 million until the end of September.

Source: www.163.com (November 20, 2009)

"We think that ARPU levels are stabilizing at China Unicom and China Telecom. We expect that China Mobile will see its monthly ARPU decrease from RMB 83.00 in 2008 to RMB 62.41 in 2013. On the other hand, we forecast that ARPUs at China Unicom and China Telecom will be stable at approximately RMB 41 and RMB 63 over the forecast period, 2009 - 2013," said Mr. Assanie.

IEMR's China Mobile Operator Forecast covers 50 financial and operational metrics on wireless operators in China - China Mobile Ltd., China Unicom Ltd., and China Telecom Corporation Limited. Notable highlights of the 4Q09 China Mobile Operator Forecast include:

* We expect that China Telecom's subscriber market share will increase from 4.4% in 2008 to 11.4% in 2013. On the other hand, China Unicom, which sold part of its operations to China Telecom in 2008, will see its subscriber market share fall from 20.8% in 2008 to 15.3% in 2013. We forecast that China Mobile will maintain its high market share in the Chinese wireless market over the next five years. We expect that its share of total subscribers will be 71.3% in 2013.

* According to our forecasting model, China Mobile's EBITDA margin (calculated as EBITDA/reported revenue) will increase from 52.5% in 2008 to 57.9% in 2013. China Unicom's EBITDA margin will remain lower. We expect that China Unicom's EBITDA margin will be 26.9% in 2013.

IEMR's Global Mobile Operator Forecast covers 50 operational metrics of 200+ mobile operators in 50 countries, making up 80% of the world's population. Forecasts are based on our proprietary, country-specific forecasting models. These models deploy multiple regression analysis and cross-impact matrices that estimate relationships between subscriber data, technology use and deployment data, overall economic and demographic changes expected in a particular country; and relate these to company operational and financial metrics.

To purchase this report, visit our website at: http://www.iemarketresearch.com/Members/Reports/ViewReportDetail.aspx?RID=1321&flag=1

Companies Covered in this Country Mobile Operator Forecast

China Mobile Ltd.

China Unicom Ltd.

China Telecom Corporation Limited

Annual Results & Forecasts for each of the above operators is covered in this report for: CY 2001-CY 2013. Quarterly Results & Forecasts are covered for: March 2003 - June 2011

PREPAID AND POSTPAID SUBSCRIBERS

SUBSCRIBER GROWTH (YoY)

SUBSCRIBERS BY OPERATOR

SUBSCRIBER GROWTH BY OPERATOR (YoY)

NET SUBSCRIBER ADDS BY OPERATOR

NET SUBSCRIBER ADDS GROWTH BY OPERATOR

MONTHLY CHURN BY OPERATOR

POST-PAID SUBSCRIBERS BY OPERATOR

POST-PAID SUBSCRIBER GROWTH BY OPERATOR (YoY)

PREPAID/WHOLESALE SUBSCRIBERS BY OPERATOR

PREPAID/WHOLESALE SUBSCRIBER GROWTH BY OPERATOR

POST-PAID % OF TOTAL SUBSCRIBERS BY OPERATOR

PREPAID/WHOLESALE % OF TOTAL SUBSCRIBERS BY OPERATOR

POST-PAID NET ADDS BY OPERATOR

POST-PAID ADDS GROWTH BY OPERATOR (YoY)

PREPAID/WHOLESALE NET ADDS BY OPERATOR

PREPAID/WHOLESALE ADDS GROWTH BY OPERATOR

MONTHLY ARPU BY OPERATOR

MONTHLY ARPU GROWTH BY OPERATOR (YoY %)

DATA % OF SERVICE REVENUES BY OPERATOR

MONTHLY DATA ARPU BY OPERATOR

DATA ARPU GROWTH BY OPERATOR (YoY)

MONTHLY VOICE ARPU BY OPERATOR

VOICE ARPU GROWTH BY OPERATOR (YoY)

VOICE REVENUE PER MINUTE BY OPERATOR

VOICE REVENUE PER MINUTE GROWTH BY OPERATOR (YoY)

MOU PER SUBSCRIBER BY OPERATOR (MINUTES/MONTH)

MOU/SUBSCRIBER GROWTH BY OPERATOR (YoY %)

SHARE OF TOTAL SUBSCRIBERS BY OPERATOR

HHI INDEX BY SUBSCRIBER SHARE

SHARE OF NET ADDS BY OPERATOR

SHARE OF POST-PAID NET ADDS BY OPERATOR

SHARE OF PREPAID/WHOLESALE NET ADDS BY OPERATOR

SHARE OF SERVICE REVENUE BY OPERATOR

HHI INDEX BY SERVICE REVENUE SHARE

YoY CHANGE IN REVENUE SHARE BY OPERATOR

REPORTED REVENUE BY OPERATOR (REPORTING CURRENCY)

SERVICE REVENUE BY OPERATOR (REPORTING CURRENCY)

EBITDA BY OPERATOR (REPORTING CURRENCY) *

CAPEX BY OPERATOR (REPORTING CURRENCY) *

SERVICE REVENUE GROWTH BY OPERATOR (YoY)

EBITDA GROWTH BY OPERATOR (YoY) *

EBITDA/REPORTED REVENUE BY OPERATOR *

EBITDA/SERVICE REVENUE BY OPERATOR *

EBITDA/INCREMENTAL SERVICE REVENUE BY OPERATOR *

CAPEX/REPORTED REVENUE BY OPERATOR *

CAPEX/SERVICE REVENUE BY OPERATOR *

(EBITDA-CAPEX)/REPORTED REVENUE BY OPERATOR *

EBITDA MARGIN EXPANSION/CONTRACTION BY OPERATOR *

REPORTED REVENUE BY OPERATOR (USD)

ARPU BY OPERATOR (USD)

DATA ARPU BY OPERATOR (USD)

VOICE REV/MINUTE BY OPERATOR (USD)

SERVICE REVENUE BY OPERATOR (USD)

EBITDA BY OPERATOR (USD) *

CAPEX BY OPERATOR (USD) *

* Available only for China Mobile Ltd. and China Unicom Ltd.

CONTACT: Mr. Nizar Assanie, Vice President (Research), IE Market Research Tel: +1 604 327 4367 e-mail: info@iemarketresearch.com WWW: http://www.iemarketresearch.com

((M2 Communications disclaims all liability for information provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties. Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to info@m2.com.

Presently, China Unicom's 114 paging center serves 900 million consumers every year, and the company's about 38 million broadband users and 145 million mobile service users are the potential customers of its WAP site www.wo116114.com and 116114 cellphone clients, respectively. The agglomeration among the 114/116114 services and products is expected to boost the company's construction of an e-commerce platform.

In addition, China Unicom had lured 144 million 2G mobile telecoms users and 1.021 million 3G users by the end of October 2009, citing its latest announcement.

Source: www.hexun.com (November 20, 2009)