China home to nearly 3.38 million 5G base stations
China made solid progress in 5G innovation and development last year, with the number of 5G base stations increasing to nearly 3.38
2027 master plan – a second 'Set Sail' 5G expansion plan aims for 85% 5G penetration and 75% of network traffic on 5G. The total number of 5G base stations in China reached 4.486 million as of the end of May (2025), according to data released by the country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
Phil Marshall, chief research officer at Tolaga Research, estimates the global number of base stations at 6.5 million sites, while Chinese equipment vendor Huawei puts the number at 7 million. Obviously China hasn't deployed nearly all of the world's base stations. The confusion arises from how you define base station.
Mobile operators in China are ramping up 5G and 5G-A rollouts, with the former now at 4.5 million cell sites and the latter in 300 cities; a new 2027 roadmap will see 75% of mobile data in the country on 5G networks. 5G on 5M sites – China has over 4.486 million 5G sites; 5G now comprises more than 35% of total mobile base stations.
China Mobile, the world's largest mobile carrier in terms of subscribers, had previously outlined plans to deploy 340,000 additional 5G base stations in 2025. With these new 5G deployments, China Mobile's total 5G base stations will reach nearly 2.8 million by the end of 2025.
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