China Telecom Reports Solid‑Performing Interim Results Amid AI‑driven Strategic Shift

China Telecom released its half‑year financial results on 20 August 2026. For the first six months, the group recorded operating revenue of RMB 260.5 billion, with core operating revenue standing at RMB 244.1 billion and remaining broadly stable on a comparable basis. Net profit reached RMB 19.6 billion, delivering sound growth under adjusted accounting metrics.

The operator pursues its strategic drive of “Cloud‑Network‑Digital‑Intelligent Transformation”, further maturing its five‑in‑one intelligent cloud framework and embracing artificial intelligence across business lines. R&D work continues apace on the Xirang technology initiative, advancing its transition towards a service‑oriented, technology‑driven and security‑focused enterprise. The group rolls out its broad‑based “AI‑plus” initiative, and deepens institutional reform centred on intelligent transformation, bringing improved business structures and solid progress in high‑quality corporate development.

Communications‑connection services evolve from plain transmission channels towards intelligent access points with embedded‑AI capabilities. Large‑scale commercial roll‑out and capability upgrades for 5G‑A are underway; 5G‑network user penetration hits 72.9 per cent, while 5G‑A subscribers reach 4.68 million. Gigabit‑plus FTTR broadband upgrades lift gigabit‑service penetration to 34.3 per cent. Enterprise‑focussed offerings including virtual private networks, dedicated lines and all‑optical corporate networking expand across vertical‑industry scenarios. Development of space‑air‑ground integrated networks builds comprehensive end‑to‑end connectivity strengths. The firm has launched the country’s national‑scale Token‑based tariff package and steadily develops the Xingchen TokenHub platform, supplying accessible computing resources, datasets, models and AI applications to end‑users, with Token consumption expanding rapidly.

Intelligent‑segment businesses maintain robust growth. A multi‑layer computing layout covers general‑purpose, intelligent, supercomputing and quantum‑computing resources, creating three‑dimensional coverage across all‑optical networks, computing internetworks, mobile communications and satellite networks. Revenue from AI‑intelligent data‑centre (AIDC) facilities rises by 9.3 per cent year‑on‑year, whilst intelligent‑computing revenue surges by 95 per cent. 

The upgraded Xirang Computing Interconnection Scheduling Platform 2.0 supports computing workloads from more than 20 heterogeneous chip types. Combined in‑house and on‑boarded intelligent‑computing capacity exceeds 118.8 EFLOPS. Sixteen algorithm frameworks enable unified scheduling of computing resources, network capacity and model workloads, delivering high‑efficiency, low‑loss and low‑latency Token transmission services. Over 20 trillion high‑quality base‑model training tokens and 500 high‑value industry‑specific datasets have been aggregated. 

The Xingchen TokenHub brings together 142 large‑scale models, alongside more than 420 industry‑specific intelligent agents and 102 functional industry‑level skills, forming an integrated cross‑device, cross‑business and cross‑scenario Token‑operation platform. Internal AI adoption and external AI‑empowered services generate combined cost‑savings and efficiency gains exceeding RMB 1.4 billion. The home‑grown‑AI‑native Xingchen Super‑Agent TeleAgent has been formally launched.

R&D investment continues across quantum‑communication, quantum‑computing and quantum‑precision‑measurement domains, with upgraded quantum‑product portfolios and broader market outreach. Quantum‑communication user numbers stand at 7.2 million. Quantum‑enabled use‑cases expand across visual‑network terminals, internet‑of‑things deployments, low‑altitude‑economy infrastructure and cloud‑service offerings. Visual‑network terminal connections scale up to hundreds of millions of endpoints. A core “1+1+4+N” capability framework for the low‑altitude economy takes shape, covering low‑altitude infrastructure, flight‑management services and safety‑control mechanisms to underpin expanded real‑world deployment.

Balancing commercial expansion with risk governance, China Telecom strengthens security‑governance frameworks tailored for the AI era and fosters mutual empowerment between artificial‑intelligence tools and cybersecurity controls. Self‑reliant defensive capabilities are enhanced, underpinning foundational cloud‑network protection systems. The layered “1+N+1” full‑stack security architecture for intelligent‑cloud environments is further refined alongside targeted R&D on security mechanisms for interconnected computing resources. Systematic data‑security governance matures, with improved safeguards for data circulation and expanded trusted‑computing and privacy‑computing tooling.

The organisation will keep advancing its “Cloud‑Network‑Digital‑Intelligent Transformation” strategy, deepen its five‑in‑one intelligent‑cloud architecture and press ahead with the “AI‑plus” programme. Token‑centric operations will drive new‑form intelligent‑economy development. Priority will be given to original, leading‑edge technological innovation, while embedded AI‑security capabilities and next‑generation digital‑information infrastructure receive sustained investment. Institutional reforms and corporate‑governance improvements will support a solid start to the 15th Five‑Year Plan period.