Soaring data consumption becomes major growth driver

China's three major telecommunications carriers - China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom - are ramping up efforts to monetize the flood of data running through their networks.

Fueled by the booming mobile internet sector, wireless data has become operators' largest revenue source, with domestic competition getting fiercer, according to Li Yi, chief researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences' internet research center.

"It is unsurprising when you consider Chinese consumers' embrace of blossoming innovative mobile apps, covering a wide range of categories from mobile payments to the bike-sharing sector."