(Yicai Global) Oct. 26 -- Chinese cellular operators are increasingly eyeing the business-to-business market after reaching the milestone of over one billion users of fifth-generation wireless data plans in September.

China Mobile had 557 million 5G users as of Sept. 30, up 18 million from a month earlier. China Unicom added 6 million more to reach 201 million subscribers, and China Telecom increased its number by 7.4 million to 251 million, the three major wireless carriers revealed recently.

Network providers are working hard to cultivate more corporate clients. Chinese telecom companies had more than 3,000 B2B projects regarding 5G last year, earning over CNY3.4 billion (USD467.7 million), making it their fastest-growing business, Hu Houkun, rotating chairman of Huawei Technologies, said at a forum yesterday.

Globally, many sectors such as oil and gas exploitation, manufacturing, and transportation already have new 5G-driven apps which introduce innovation and create value for cellular operators, Hu said.

China Mobile reported CNY91.1 billion (USD12.5 billion) in revenue from the public and corporate market in the first half of this year, up 25 percent from a year ago while making up 18 percent of the firm’s total. The company had 21.1 million government and corporate clients, up by 2.3 million, its first-half financial report shows.

The upgraded network infrastructure has driven up sales. China Mobile recorded a 13 percent boost in net profit to CNY98.5 billion in the first three quarters of this year from a year ago while its revenue climbed by 12 percent to CNY723.5 billion (USD99.5 billion). China Telecom posted a growth of 5 percent in net profit to CNY24.5 billion, and a 10 percent revenue increase to CNY357.8 billion, per the firms' earnings reports.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi