(Updates with analyst comment, China Unicom and China Telecom new subscriber figures) By Ernest Kong OF DOW JONES NEWSWIRES HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- China Mobile Ltd. (0941.HK) said Monday it added 4.6 million users in October, the largest monthly addition reported by the telecommunications giant so far. The addition brings its total number of subscribers to 291.74 million. China Mobile, the world's largest wireless operator by subscribers, added nearly 4.5 million users in September. Kelvin Ho, an analyst with Nomura International (Hong Kong) Ltd. said China Mobile is likely to continue to perform well in gaining new users in months ahead. "China Mobile showed its strength in reporting healthy numbers even in the slow summer season this year, so it should have no problems in the months ahead," said Ho. On top of strong demand for mobile services in China, analysts said China Mobile's fast growing subscriber base is partly due to its aggressive push into rural areas this year. China Mobile's smaller rival China Unicom Ltd. (CHU) said Sunday it added 1.29 million subscribers in October, more than the 1.23 million users it gained in September. The October addition brought its total number of subscribers to 139.8 million. However, Chinese fixed-line operators' subscriber growth is slowing, as increasing numbers of potential users now prefer mobile phones. China Telecom Corp. (CHA), the country's largest fixed-line operator by subscribers, reported Monday it lowest number of new additions since it first started issuing monthly figures in January. China Telecom added 0.66 million customers for its local-access lines in October, fewer than the 0.84 million new customers it gained in September. Local-access lines include fixed telephone lines and personal handy-phone services. By the end of October, China Telecom's network had risen to a total of 221.7 million local-access subscribers |