By the end of August, the number of mobile Internet of Things (IoT) connections in China had reached 1.698 billion, surpassing the number of mobile phone users for the first time, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed on Wednesday.

China's mobile IoT has made remarkable progress in application development, as well as network and industrial capability, said the ministry.

By the end of August, the total number of narrowband IoT, 4G base stations, and 5G base stations had reached 755,000, 5.9 million, and 2.1 million, respectively, data from the ministry showed.

A network infrastructure pattern with coordinated development of multiple networks, universal coverage in urban and rural areas, and in-depth coverage of key scenarios has been formed, it was added.