China Mobile Breaks Monthly Record

Forget eight as a prosperous Chinese number, six rules the day, as in the month of June. China Mobile racked up net new adds of 5.5 million subscribers thus raising it's total to 332.4 million subscribers. China Mobile said 5.15 million of its new customers in June were pre-paid subscribers and 372,000 were contract customers. The additions raised its total up from 326.9 million at the end of May.

Estimates are by 2010, there will be 711.6 million subs in China,and even that will represent only 52.5 per cent of the population, according to research and consulting firm ROA Group, which specialises in convergence and mobile markets in Asia. God what a country and a market! And it's still only considered a "developing market."

EoY 2006, China had 443.6 million subscribers, with 284 million as pre-paid customers, with the rest post-paid.

Law of big numbers boys and girls. China warmly embraces the power of mobiles. Start thinking differently.

And now, with the "Chinese way" of business inching towards 3G, and licenses expected to be issued at the end of the year, with production runs of this magnatude, don't be surprised if ATT and Verizon start considering a Chinese standard for 3G and importing "Bird" handsets. In the immortal words of the Hammer: "Can't touch this."