China, the world’s most populous country, is a nation of 1.3 billion. Nearly half, 592 million, use mobile phones according to Ministry of Information Industry figures. As mobile subscriptions have risen, land-line use has dropped. Mobile subscriptions in China are up 9% over last year’s numbers.

According to the Xinhua news agency, the main factor behind growth was a trend for mobile operators to cut fees in order to gain market share. Land-line providers lost 6.5% of their subscribers in the first five months of this year, falling to 358 million customers.

To help bolster declining land-line companies, China announced last month that it will restructure the telecommunications industry. Three giant companies will be created in the hope to bring back balance between land-line and mobile service providers.