China Mobile Prefixes: Carrier Lookup Table (2026)

📅 2026-03-08 ⏱️ 12 min read ✍️ BubblyPhone Team

Identify any Chinese mobile carrier by prefix. 138=China Mobile, 186=China Unicom, 180=China Telecom. Complete prefix table.

Quick Answer: China Mobile Carrier Prefixes

Most Searched+86 186 = China Unicom
Largest CarrierChina Mobile (~1B subs, 57%)
Number Format+86 1XX XXXX XXXX (11 digits)

China Mobile (中国移动) — 57% Market Share

World's largest carrier with ~1.009 billion subscribers.

Prefixes: 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 147, 150, 151, 152, 157, 158, 159, 172, 178, 182, 183, 184, 187, 188, 195, 197, 198

China Unicom (中国联通) — 18% Market Share

~330 million subscribers.

Prefixes: 130, 131, 132, 145, 155, 156, 166, 167, 175, 176, 185, 186, 196

China Telecom (中国电信) — 25% Market Share

~437 million subscribers.

Prefixes: 133, 149, 153, 173, 177, 180, 181, 189, 190, 191, 193, 199

China Broadnet (中国广电)

4th carrier, launched 2022. Prefix: 192. 5G-only service on 700MHz spectrum.

Virtual Operators (MVNOs)

Prefixes: 170, 171 — Used by 40+ virtual operators. Often associated with prepaid/temporary SIMs.

Mobile Number Portability (MNP)

China launched nationwide MNP on December 1, 2019. A prefix now only indicates the original carrier assignment — the number may have been ported to a different carrier.

How to Call a Chinese Mobile Number

  • From USA: 011 + 86 + 11-digit number (e.g., 011-86-138-XXXX-XXXX)
  • From UK/Europe: 00 + 86 + 11-digit number
  • From mobile: +86 + 11-digit number
  • Within China: Dial the 11-digit number directly

Calling Rates

ServiceRate
BubblyPhone$0.01-0.02/min
AT&T$3.00-5.00/min
Verizon$2.49-3.00/min
WeChatFree (data)

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