(Yicai Global) March 23 -- China Mobile Ltd., one of China's big three state-backed telecoms carriers, boosted revenue from communications services by 7.2 percent last year, marking the fastest growth in six years as it expanded its 4G network and took on new broadband subscribers.

The company's income from communications services was CNY668 billion (USD105 billion) in 2017, making up the bulk of its CNY741 billion haul which was up 4.5 percent on the year, according to its annual report. Net profit climbed 5.1 percent to CNY114 billion.

China Mobile's network users are still growing, telecoms sector analyst Ma Jihua said, adding that some are moving up from 2G and 3G to use 4G networking and the firm's average revenue per user is rising. The company grabbed 114 million new subscribers last year and data traffic grew 121 percent, its report shows. Average revenue per user edged up 0.3 percent to CNY66.4.

Broadband was another key area of growth, capturing nearly 35 million new subscribers to make up 75.6 percent of new customers nationwide. Average revenue per broadband user jumped 17.5 percent on the year to CNY33.3.

The firm also connected 126 million more Internet of Things devices, linking 229 million in total. Its mobile payment business CM Pay saw trading volume pass CNY2 trillion (USD316 billion), and revenue from its entertainment app Migu TV rose 67.2 percent.