China’s Mobile Internet Traffic and IoT Users Maintain Robust Growth

According to data released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China’s mobile internet traffic achieved steady growth in the first four months of 2026, reflecting continuous expansion of the country’s digital consumer market and thriving development of new information infrastructure.

The cumulative mobile internet traffic reached 142 billion gigabytes during the January-April period, marking a year-on-year increase of 18.5 percent. By the end of April, the total number of mobile internet users had risen to 1.624 billion, with a net increase of 14.16 million users compared with the end of last year. The expanding user base provides solid fundamental support for the sustainable growth of domestic digital traffic consumption.

Per-user data consumption maintains an upward trend. In April alone, the average monthly data usage per mobile internet user stood at 23.17 gigabytes, growing 13.5 percent year on year and edging up 0.13 gigabytes from the level recorded at the end of 2025. The rising per-capita traffic demand demonstrates the continuous penetration of mobile digital applications in daily life, entertainment and work scenarios across the country.

China’s internet of things connection scale keeps rapid expansion. Statistics show that three basic telecom operators had developed 2.976 billion mobile IoT terminal users by late April, representing a net growth of 87.63 million from the end of last year. The massive terminal connection scale highlights the accelerated integration of digital technology into industrial production and smart community construction.

The scale of smart home digital services also continues to expand. The number of internet TV users reached 410 million, with a net increase of 1.456 million within the first four months. The steady growth of household smart terminal users enriches the application scenarios of digital infrastructure and drives the continuous upgrading of terminal consumption markets.

The continuous growth of mobile traffic, individual users and IoT terminals further improves the scale and vitality of China’s digital information industry. With the continuous optimisation of domestic communication infrastructure and the iterative upgrading of digital application scenarios, the scale of mobile data consumption and intelligent terminal connections will maintain stable expansion, empowering the high-quality development of the digital economy.