China Telecommunication Corp, China's biggest tele company, reported approximately 380,000 users fell in subscribers last month after the introduction of low fee packages.
China Mobile, however, added 5.59 million subscribers in August for a total of 343.6 million, the world's No. 1 mobile carrier said in a separate release.
China Mobile's smaller rival China Unicom Ltd yesterday said that it gained 1.43 million customers in August, less than the previous month.
China Telecom in July added 60,000 customers, the smallest number since the company started reporting monthly numbers in January 2006. The telco last month reported second-quarter profit that missed analyst estimates after users signed up for cheaper rates at mobile carriers. Sales rose 3.8 percent to 44.30 billion yuan.
Second-quarter sales at Beijing-based China Mobile rose 23.5 percent to 88.9 billion yuan, according to figures derived by subtracting first-quarter results from first-half earnings.
"China Telecom should diversify its business to new areas like broadband and information services," Norson added.
China Telecom has developed broadband services and the 114 service, which provide callers information on food, transport and entertainment. China Telecom charges related firms advertising fees on the 114 service.
"The telecommunications structure in China is unbalanced as China Mobile is No. 1, even bigger than the combined revenue of other players including China Telecom, China Unicom and China Netcom," Norson said.
The gap will be broken when the country issues 3G, or third generation, licenses, probably next year. China Telecom is expected to get one of the 3G licenses, industry insiders said.
