If a 4G mobile phone user has a 5G package, no matter whether 4G or 5G terminals are used, they will be counted as 5G users in the operator system. The title picture is from Visual China, and this article is fromWeChat public account: Economic Observer (ID: eeo-com-cn) author: eeo-com-cn
“Why are users not required to change 5G mobile phones, but are required to activate 5G cards and apply for 5G packages?” June 10, Beijing Unicom user Li Ming(pseudonym ) told reporters.
In the beginning of February 2020, Li Ming applied for the “New Smart Wojia Family Portrait 5G Version” package on the official website of Beijing Unicom. This package combines 500M broadband service and 5G mobile service(One 5GSIM card). According to Li Ming, he did not plan to buy a 5G mobile phone, so he did not activate the 5G card in the package, and Beijing Unicom stopped his broadband service on June 4. After four consultations with the customer service of China Unicom, the other party still insisted that only users activate the 5G card to resume their broadband services.
The broadband service and 5G mobile service of this package are bundled in nature. This has been stated by Beijing Unicom on the official website. If Li Ming activates the 5G card in the package, he will become a 4G user who is “being 5G”-not using a 5G mobile phone or connecting to a 5G network. Operators have not yet made a standard definition of 5G users, and true 5G users should meet the three conditions of using 5G mobile phones, 5G packages, and accessing 5G networks.
Operators are vigorously promoting 5G services for consumers, and the number of 5G users in China is growing rapidly. According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, 5G users in China increased by more than 7 million within a month of April, with an average daily increase of 230,000 5G users.
An operator person told reporters that in the current situation where 5G network coverage needs to be improved and 5G mobile phones need to be civilianized, the promotion speed of 5G users is somewhat faster. The reason for the promotion of 5G packages in this way is that on the one hand, operators have relevant assessment requirements, on the other hand, the development of 5G package users in advance, and when the terminal and other conditions are ripe, it is more conducive to converting the user into a true 5G customer.
StrateGyAnalytics research director Yang Guang told reporters that if the corresponding 5G package promotion cannot be matched with the upgrade of terminals and business applications, it is not conducive to operators to improve ARPU(Average revenue per user) value, at the same time, will also put a certain pressure on the operator’s existing 4G network.
4G users are “being 5G”
Li Ming (pseudonym) told reporters that he applied the “new wisdom Wojia Family Portrait” of Beijing Unicom online in early February 2020 “5G version” package, 166 yuan monthly fee, service includes 500M broadband and a Beijing Unicom 5GSIM card. At present, Beijing Mobile and Beijing Telecom have also launched related integration packages.
According to Beijing Unicom’s official website, the card contains basic package content with 40G traffic and 1500 minutes of voice. He said that at present, there is no plan to buy 5G mobile phones, and there are already 4G cards for telecommunications and mobile, so he is not going to use the 5G cards in the Unicom package. Li Ming told reporters, “Originally I wanted to apply for a single broadband package, but I didn’t find it on the official website at that time. I only saw the integrated package by clicking on the broadband page.”
Until June 4, Li Ming received a customer service call from Unicom, and the other party asked him to activate the 5G card in the package, but Li Ming did not activate the card. On June 5, Li Ming discovered that the broadband service was stopped, and after recharging 200 yuan, he found that the service was still not restored. He called the customer service phone and was told that he must use a 5G card to restore the broadband service.
Beijing Unicom explained on the official website the rules for the entry into force of the package: the main 5G number in the package is not activated for 25 days, the fusion package must be cancelled, the broadband tariff in the package is changed to the standard single broadband monthly subscription fee of the corresponding rate, and the package is for one year The contract is automatically terminated. And Li Ming said, “In the communication with the customer service of China Unicom, the other party has never asked me whether I want to switch to a single broadband monthly subscription package, but told me that the broadband and 5G card are integrated packages. To restore broadband use, only activate the 5G mobile phone No. for the card onlyJust activate, you don’t have to use a 5G mobile phone, and you don’t have to use a 5G service.”
But Li Ming insisted on not activating the 5G card. Until June 8, the two parties had communicated four times. The solution provided by Unicom was still that only users activate the 5G card to resume their broadband services, but agreed Compensation for the suspension of broadband services by users, that is, a one-month package fee reduction.
Li Ming was not satisfied with the solution. He said, “I don’t think the user has the intention to use the 5G card, and the other party should not forcefully use it. At the same time, when they learned that I did not activate the 5G card, the other party did not give The plan to downgrade to a single broadband service has not sent me a 5G card, but directly stopped the broadband business I have paid for,” Li Ming said.
Three types of 5G packages
If Li Ming activated the 5G card in the package, he would become a 5G user without a 5G mobile phone and without access to the 5G network. At present, there is a difference between the number of 5G package users and the number of 5G terminal network connections in official data. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, as of the end of March 2020, there were more than 50 million users using 5G packages in China. At the same time, a total of more than 20 million 5G terminals were connected to 5G networks with related equipment. The huge difference between the two is explaining a phenomenon: many users have become 5G users without changing 5G mobile phones.
A person from Beijing Unicom’s mobile phone business office once told reporters that if a 4G mobile phone user has a 5G package, no matter whether a 4G or 5G terminal is used, it will be counted as a 5G user in the operator’s system. After being sorted out by reporters, there are roughly three forms of promotion of 5G packages by operators. The common point is that whether users have 5G mobile phones or not, the network speed they enjoy still matches the original terminal.
First, bundle the 5G package with the broadband package and sell it to consumers at a lower price. Based on the 166 yuan fusion package selected by the above consumers, if you purchase the relevant 5G and broadband packages separately , You need to spend 159 yuan and 148 yuan respectively;
Second, additional purchase discounts are added to the 5G standard package. The three operators launched 5G standard packages in November 2019, and their price thresholds are higher than 4G packages. Since then, operators have added discounts on machine purchases. For example, Beijing Telecom has added a 585 yuan terminal direct discount to the 5G package stall of “129 yuan/month 30GB500 minutes”. A 4G user, as long as he signs up for a 2 year 5G package and purchases the corresponding mobile terminal in the business hall, he can get a discount of 585 yuan for the purchase of the machineIn contrast, if the user buys a 4G contract package of 129 yuan/month (pay 99 yuan/month), the only service he gets 20G traffic and 500 minutes of voice.
Third, the 5G data package that can be superimposed on the basic package of 2G~5G users. In essence, it belongs to a low-cost traffic package, mainly for users with insufficient basic package traffic.
Too fast 5G promotion
StrateGyAnalytics research director Yang Guang told reporters that the above three tariff strategies have existed since the era of 3G and 4G. With the advancement of mobile communication technology, operators have lower unit costs for each generation of technology than the previous generation. Currently 5G Although the total price of the package is higher than 4G, the unit price is cheaper than 4G. In packages of the same price, the amount of data contained in 5G packages is usually much greater than the level of 4G packages. So operators can launch 5G packages with lower unit prices to attract users to use the new generation of technology.
The above-mentioned operators said to reporters that in the current situation where 5G network coverage needs to be improved and 5G mobile phones need to be civilianized, the promotion speed of 5G users is somewhat faster. In contrast, the transition period for 3G to 4G packages is relatively long. During the period when operators promote users, the network and terminals are relatively mature. The reason for promoting 5G packages in this way is that on the one hand, operators have relevant assessment requirements; on the other hand, the development of 5G package users, and when the terminal and other conditions are ripe, it is more conducive to converting the user into a true 5G customer.
The number of 5G users is one of the important basic data to investigate the development of 5G. In terms of user evaluation, currently only China Mobile has announced its goal of developing 70 million 5G users by 2020, including mobile users and industry users. At the policy level, operators are also faced with two major pressures: speed-up and fee reduction and number portability, and they must seek a balance between ensuring quality and attracting passenger flow.
Yang Guang believes that if the corresponding 5G package promotion cannot be matched with the upgrade of terminals and business applications, it is not conducive to operators to improve ARPU (average per user Income) value. At the beginning of the promotion of each new generation of communication technology, it should have been an opportunity for operators to increase ARPU. According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in the first quarter, three operators’ mobile communication business revenue was 222.4 billion yuan, down 1.9% year-on-year, of which China Mobile’s ARPU was 46.9 yuan, down 6.7% year-on-year.
At the same time, this phenomenon will also cause certain pressure on operators’ existing 4G networks. Operators need to be forced to maintain investment in 4G. If the 4G network experience deteriorates, it may increase the user’s off-network rate. The above operators believe that the development of 5G package users will not cause pressure on the 4G network because the operators usually plan according to the urban population and base station capacity before launching the relevant packages, and will consider the increase in package users. Capacity issues.
This article is fromWeChat public account: Economic Observer ( ID: eeo-com-cn) , author: eeo-com-cn