China generated around 30% of global net mobile subscriber additions in the second quarter, far outstripping the other top five markets, regular research by Ericsson shows.
A mid year update of the figures shows China added 30 million subscribers in 2Q13, compared to net additions of nine million in second placed Indonesia, India (eight million), Bangladesh (five million), and Nigeria (four million). Total net additions in the quarter hit 105 million, taking global penetration to 91%.
Ericsson claims total mobile subscriptions hit 6.5 billion in 2Q13 including dual subscriptions (4.5 billion excluding), and that mobile broadband users grew 150 million year on year to 1.8 billion. LTE users accounted for 125 million of those, an increase of 25 million, and mobile data traffic nearly doubled to just over 1,600 Petabytes per month.
The firm also states 55% of handsets sold in the quarter were smartphones – concurring with recent research by Gartner claiming an historic breakthrough for the high end devices.
A breakdown of penetration by region reveals one reason why China, Asia Pacific and Africa top the net additions tables. Central and Eastern Europe registers total penetration of 139%, with Western Europe close behind on 124% and Latin America third on 113%.