The operator added 5.46 million users last month, compared with 5.28 million subscribers in April, China Mobile said yesterday on its Website. Last month's customer additions were 25 percent more than a year earlier, according to the carrier.

China Mobile added 25.6 million subscribers this year, extending its lead as the world's largest wireless carrier by users, after introducing a billing system in February that no longer charges users for incoming calls. The boost comes at the expense of fixed-line phone companies such as China Telecom Corp, Bloomberg News reported.

China Telecom, the nation's biggest fixed-line operator, yesterday reported the company added 200,000 phone subscribers last month, down 85 percent from a year earlier. Beijing-based China Mobile had 326.9 million users at the end of last month, more than the combined populations of the United States and Australia.

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