Page last updated on January 28, 2014

Telephones - main lines in use:
278.86 million (2012)
country comparison to the world: 1
[see also: Telephones - main lines in use country ranks ]

Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.1 billion (2012)
country comparison to the world: 1
[see also: Telephones - mobile cellular country ranks ]

Telephone system:
general assessment: domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and many towns; China continues to develop its telecommunications infrastructure; China in the summer of 2008 began a major restructuring of its telecommunications industry, resulting in the consolidation of its six telecom service operators to three, China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom, each providing both fixed-line and mobile services
domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; mobile-cellular subscribership is increasing rapidly; the number of Internet users exceeded 564 million by the end of 2012; a domestic satellite system with several earth stations is in place
international: country code - 86; a number of submarine cables provide connectivity to Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the US; satellite earth stations - 7 (5 Intelsat - 4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean; 1 Intersputnik - Indian Ocean region; and 1 Inmarsat - Pacific and Indian Ocean regions) (2012)

Broadcast media:
all broadcast media are owned by, or affiliated with, the Communist Party of China or a government agency; no privately owned TV or radio stations; state-run Chinese Central TV, provincial, and municipal stations offer more than 2,000 channels; the Central Propaganda Department lists subjects that are off limits to domestic broadcast media with the government maintaining authority to approve all programming; foreign-made TV programs must be approved prior to broadcast

Internet country code:
.cn

Internet hosts:
20.602 million (2012)
country comparison to the world: 5
[see also: Internet hosts country ranks ]

Internet users:
389 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 1
[see also: Internet users country ranks ]