China Mobile has 500 million subscribers

China Mobile has become the world's first mobile operator to pass the 500 million subscribers milestone. In a brief customer data update on its website this morning, the Chinese market-leader said it had reached 503 million customers by the end of August. It said it added 5.3 million customers (net additions) in August to reach the half a billion milestone, which means that the operator has added 45.7 million customers (cumulative net additions) in the year to date.

The world's largest Operator by subscribers also said that it had signed up 1.3 million subscribers to its new 3G network by end-August. The TD-SCDMA-based network branded as 'G3' - is being rolled-out countrywide this year. According to Wireless Intelligence forecasts, China Mobile is on track to achieve 512 million connections by the end of the current quarter (Q309) with TD-SCDMA connections accounting for 1.5 million.