According to the latest data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) released on September 23rd， as of the end of August， China’s mobile internet user base reached 1.601 billion households， marking a net increase of 31.32 million users compared to the end of the previous year.
During the first eight months of the year， the cumulative mobile internet traffic reached 2534 billion GB， indicating a year-on-year increase of 16.4%. This robust growth suggests a continued high demand for mobile data services among the population.
In August alone， the average mobile internet access traffic per user (DOU) was 20.87 GB/household/month， up 14.3% year-on-year. This figure is also 1.17 GB/household/month higher than at the end of last year. The expanding DOU highlights the increasing reliance on mobile internet for various activities， including streaming， social media， and online productivity tools.
In terms of voice communication， the call duration for mobile phones during the first eight months was 1.4 trillion minutes， a decrease of 5.4% compared to the same period last year. Similarly， fixed-line phone outgoing call duration decreased by 12.6% to 45.29 billion minutes. This trend reflects a broader shift in communication habits， with users increasingly favoring instant messaging and video calls over traditional voice calls， often facilitated by the very mobile internet services experiencing growth.
Despite the decline in voice calls， mobile messaging services have seen a significant resurgence. During the first eight months， the volume of national mobile messaging traffic increased by 21.9% year-on-year. However， the revenue generated from these services only grew by 0.4%， suggesting a potential change in user behavior towards free or bundled messaging services within applications， impacting monetization strategies for telecom operators.
