China Mobile, China's biggest cell phone operator, has overtaken its British rival Vodafone to become the world's largest mobile telecom carrier in terms of brand value, a research report said. The Chinese mobile phone carrier had already surpassed Vodafone in terms of subscriber numbers and market value.

The brand value of China Mobile has hit $30.79 billion, ranking first among the top 100 mobile telecom carriers worldwide, while Vodafone comes second with a brand value of $22.13 billion and US operator Verizon ranks third with $20.38 billion, according to the report issued by Mobile Communications International, a trade journal in the US.

The research was conducted by Intangible Business, a US-based brand assessment consulting institute. "Brand value takes various factors into account in a comprehensive manner," said Will Grobel, marketing director of Intangible Business. "Therefore, it evaluates a brand and its business better than any other single indicator." China Mobile has around 400 million users, also the highest in the world.