China Mobile Business Model Canvas

As a state-controlled enterprise, China Mobile's relationship with Chinese government and regulatory bodies is paramount. These partnerships are critical for acquiring necessary spectrum licenses and obtaining crucial policy backing for the expansion of its network infrastructure, including the ongoing development of 5G and future 6G technologies. In 2023, China Mobile invested approximately RMB 189.7 billion in network construction, a significant portion of which relies on government support and regulatory approvals.

China Mobile's key partnerships extend to content creators and application developers, vital for enriching its digital ecosystem and value-added services. These collaborations are essential for platforms like MIGU Video and various AI-driven services, aiming to boost customer acquisition and retention.

In 2024, China Mobile continued to expand its digital service offerings by onboarding new partners, which contributed to a reported 15% year-over-year growth in digital service subscriptions.

These partnerships are crucial for integrating diverse content and applications, thereby enhancing customer engagement and expanding the company's service portfolio beyond core connectivity.

China Mobile is heavily invested in developing and delivering digital transformation services and enterprise solutions. This includes a comprehensive suite of offerings like cloud services, Internet of Things (IoT) platforms, big data analytics, and specialized 5G private networks tailored for businesses.

These solutions are customized to address the unique requirements of various industries and government entities. In 2023, China Mobile's revenue from its government and enterprise customers reached approximately 215.7 billion yuan, highlighting the significant financial impact of these digital transformation efforts.

The company's strategy emphasizes productizing and standardizing these enterprise solutions. This approach aims to efficiently cater to a broad spectrum of business needs, ensuring scalability and accessibility for a diverse client base seeking to enhance their operations through digital technologies.

China Mobile's key activities revolve around the continuous expansion and enhancement of its telecommunications network, encompassing 4G, 5G, and gigabit broadband. This involves substantial capital expenditure, with 180.5 billion yuan invested in 2023 primarily for 5G and broadband development.

The company also focuses on delivering a broad spectrum of mobile communication services, including voice, text, and data, while actively upgrading to advanced features like 5G New Calling. By late 2023, over 337 million users were connected to its 5G network.

Furthermore, China Mobile is a significant player in digital transformation, offering enterprise solutions like cloud services, IoT, and private 5G networks, generating approximately 215.7 billion yuan from government and enterprise clients in 2023.

Research and development is another critical activity, with substantial investments in AI, 5G-Advanced, and 6G to drive future innovation and create new revenue streams.

China Mobile boasts an unparalleled customer base, exceeding 1 billion mobile subscribers in mainland China. This massive reach translates into substantial recurring revenue streams and a powerful platform for introducing and cross-selling a wide array of new services, from 5G plans to digital content.

The company's strong brand recognition, deeply ingrained in the Chinese market, fosters significant customer loyalty. This established reputation not only aids in retaining existing customers but also provides a competitive edge when attracting new ones, solidifying its market dominance and reducing customer acquisition costs.

China Mobile's key resources are its vast network infrastructure, including over 2.4 million 5G base stations by the end of 2024, and its massive subscriber base exceeding 1 billion. These are supported by government-granted spectrum licenses, a robust data center network with 29.2 EFLOPS of intelligent computing power by year-end 2024, and a highly skilled workforce. The company also holds over 17,000 patents, particularly in 5G and AI, safeguarding its technological edge.

China Mobile's value proposition centers on a deeply integrated service portfolio, encompassing everything from mobile and wireline broadband to sophisticated enterprise cloud and IoT solutions. This comprehensive offering simplifies digital access for customers, allowing them to manage multiple communication and technology needs through one provider.

This integrated approach is a significant draw, particularly as digital adoption accelerates. For instance, by the end of 2023, China Mobile reported a substantial 400 million broadband users, showcasing the widespread demand for their bundled connectivity services. This allows them to seamlessly cross-sell and up-sell across their diverse service categories.

The company's strategy effectively caters to a broad spectrum of users, from individual consumers seeking simplified digital lives to businesses requiring robust, interconnected solutions. This wide reach is supported by their extensive network infrastructure, enabling them to deliver these integrated services efficiently across China.

China Mobile's value proposition is built on offering comprehensive digital solutions that span across consumer and enterprise needs. They provide a unified platform for mobile, broadband, cloud, and IoT services, simplifying digital access and management for their vast user base. This integrated approach ensures customers can easily access and utilize a wide array of communication and technology services from a single, reliable provider.

China Mobile prioritizes a value-oriented and segment-based approach to manage its customer relationships. This strategy focuses on keeping customers long-term and generating maximum value from them. For instance, in 2023, their average revenue per user (ARPU) for mobile services reached approximately RMB 48.1, demonstrating a focus on increasing value from their existing user base.

The company tailors its product offerings and innovation efforts to specific customer groups. This includes individual consumers, households, and enterprise clients, ensuring that each segment receives relevant services and advancements. This segmentation allows China Mobile to better meet diverse needs and enhance customer loyalty.

China Mobile cultivates customer relationships through a multi-channel approach, blending physical stores, call centers, and robust digital platforms like its mobile app, which saw 230 million monthly active users in 2024. This strategy prioritizes customer value and segmentation, aiming for long-term retention and increased ARPU, which reached approximately RMB 48.1 for mobile services in 2023.

China Mobile leverages specialized direct sales teams to engage with enterprise and government clients. These teams are crucial for delivering customized solutions for complex requirements, such as cloud, IoT, and private 5G networks.

This direct approach fosters strong client relationships and ensures that China Mobile's offerings precisely meet the unique demands of these significant market segments. In 2023, China Mobile reported that its enterprise business revenue grew by 10.3% year-on-year, highlighting the effectiveness of these dedicated sales efforts.

China Mobile's channels encompass a vast physical retail presence, robust digital platforms like its app and website, dedicated enterprise sales teams, strategic partnerships, and comprehensive customer support hotlines and chat services. These diverse touchpoints are essential for customer acquisition, service delivery, and relationship management, ensuring broad market reach and tailored solutions.

China Mobile's Home Broadband and Smart Home Users segment is a key focus, encompassing households that subscribe to their fixed-line broadband internet. This group also actively uses China Mobile's Aijia brand for smart home solutions, indicating a growing reliance on integrated digital services within the home.

The company is actively targeting these users by offering advanced packages that combine Gigabit speeds, Fiber-to-the-Room (FTTR) technology, and tailored scenario-based services. This strategy aims to provide a seamless and high-performance home internet experience, enhanced by smart home capabilities.

Smart home applications, such as those designed for elderly care, are specifically being developed and promoted to this segment. This demonstrates a commitment to leveraging technology for improved quality of life and addressing specific household needs.

This segment represents a significant growth area for China Mobile, with millions of existing wireline broadband customers providing a substantial base. For instance, by the end of 2023, China Mobile reported over 270 million wireline broadband customers, highlighting the immense market potential within this user group.

China Mobile's customer segments showcase a strategic diversification, catering to a broad spectrum from individual users to large enterprises. The company's ability to serve over a billion mass-market consumers with affordable mobile services forms its foundation. Simultaneously, it actively cultivates higher-value segments like 5G enthusiasts and home broadband users, evident in its over 270 million wireline broadband customers by the end of 2023. The business segment, serving over 20 million enterprise customers by the same period, highlights a commitment to SMEs with essential connectivity and cloud solutions, while large enterprises and government bodies benefit from specialized digital transformation packages, including private 5G networks.

Employee benefits and related expenses are a substantial component of China Mobile's operational costs. In 2024, these expenses amounted to RMB151.9 billion. This significant investment underscores the company's commitment to attracting and retaining a highly skilled workforce, particularly in areas crucial for its strategic transformation and innovation efforts.

China Mobile's cost structure is dominated by its extensive network infrastructure and operational expenses. Capital expenditure for network expansion and maintenance, alongside ongoing operation and support costs, represent the largest financial commitments.

Employee costs and sales/marketing efforts are also significant, reflecting the company's investment in its workforce and market presence. The cost of goods sold, primarily handsets, further contributes to the overall expenditure.

These costs are managed to support service delivery and market competitiveness, with a focus on efficiency despite substantial ongoing investments.

Digital transformation services represent a significant and rapidly expanding revenue source for China Mobile, catering to enterprises, government bodies, and various vertical industries. This segment includes crucial offerings like cloud services, the Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, and the deployment of 5G private networks, all vital for modernizing operations.

In 2024, digital transformation revenue soared to RMB278.8 billion, establishing it as a key growth driver for the company. Notably, China Mobile Cloud's revenue alone surpassed RMB100 billion, underscoring the strong demand and market penetration of its cloud-based solutions.

China Mobile's revenue streams are diverse, with mobile communication services remaining the largest contributor, driven by over a billion subscribers utilizing voice, data, and messaging. Wireline broadband is a significant and growing segment, with RMB130.2 billion generated in 2024 from high-speed internet and smart home services.

Digital transformation services have become a major growth engine, bringing in RMB278.8 billion in 2024. This includes cloud, IoT, big data, and private 5G networks, with China Mobile Cloud alone exceeding RMB100 billion.

Applications and information services, including personal cloud drives and AI-powered solutions, generated RMB243.8 billion in 2024. Additionally, the sale of mobile handsets and devices contributed RMB151.3 billion in 2024, serving as a key channel for customer acquisition and retention.