As one of the two main pillars of China Telecom's corporate services, the network leasing business holds comparable importance to the internet leased-line segment. Together, these two services form the core of the company's enterprise strategy. However, as the corporate market continues to evolve, the network leasing business is showing signs of slowing growth. In 2025, 21 provincial branches of China Telecom reported a decline in revenue from this service. What are the reasons behind this trend?

According to reports, China Telecom's total revenue from network leasing services in 2025 exceeded 26 billion yuan, slightly lower than the revenue generated from internet leased lines by several billion yuan. The figure also represents a year-on-year decrease of approximately 4%. Among the company's provincial branches, only 10 reported positive growth in network leasing revenue, while 21 experienced negative growth. Notable declines were observed in branches such as Zhejiang Telecom, Jilin Telecom, and Hebei Telecom.

This situation, however, is not unexpected. Industry analysis suggests that competition among the three major telecommunications operators in the network leasing segment has intensified, leading to frequent price wars. In an effort to secure customers, operators have often reduced service prices or offered additional discounts, further squeezing profit margins and impacting revenue growth. Additionally, compared to internet leased lines, network leasing services involve higher costs and have fewer application scenarios. As market demand softens, slowing growth in this segment is considered a natural outcome.