Intense competition takes its toll on telecom giants

China Mobile Communications Corp, the world's largest mobile carrier by subscribers, reported a 0.3 percent decrease in revenue to 567 billion yuan ($80 billion) in the first three quarters of this year, its first ever revenue decline since 2014.

"The elimination of domestic roaming fees and increasingly fierce competition among telecom operators are posing challenges to mobile service revenue growth," China Mobile said in its latest fiscal report.

China scrapped domestic data roaming charges from July 1 this year to ensure more affordable services, which place pressure on telecom operators' revenue and profit growth, as earnings from mobile data services are an important source of revenue and core business.