Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

On June 6, 2019, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially issued 5G licenses to China Mobile, China Unicom, China Radio and Television and China Telecom. From this moment on, China officially entered the "5G era".

Picture Source: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in 2022, China Radio and Television 5G network service was officially launched, officially competing with China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom.

Some time ago, the three major operators in China released detailed operating data respectively. According to data, as of January 2023, the total number of 5G package subscribers of the three major operators has exceeded 1.1 billion, and even the number of Chinese radio and television subscribers who have just squeezed in has exceeded 5 million. Let's not talk about the number of users of this 5G package, at least the popularity of 5G is quite obvious.

As a personal experience of the development of 5G, 5G package has been criticized by consumers. As operators want to recover the cost of base station construction, the price of the minimum package of 128 yuan has been complained by consumers, and compared with the 4G package, the 5G package has only an improvement in Internet speed, so it is difficult for consumers to pay for it.

So in the early days of 5G commercial, few people would choose to touch the 5G package.

Domestic 5G development has experienced nearly four years, from early exploration to maturity, has experienced a transformation. It can be predicted that the future mobile phone package will only be based on 5G, and the 4G package will gradually withdraw from the stage. Under this premise, a new question arises: is the price of the 5G package now favorable? Can users abandon the 4G package?

A variety of conditions are intertwined, 5G operators'"hell start" as early as 2019, when 5G package was born, the three major operators have a very clear purpose, that is to recover infrastructure costs. This is similar to some domestic highway tolls, including the 4G package has just started to operate at a high price, and the price will not fall until the later cost is recovered.

Therefore, at that time, the base price of the 5G package of the three major operators was 128yuan, and they were able to enjoy the high speed of 500Mbps. If you want to enjoy a higher speed, you should choose a higher package, up to 599yuan.

The high-priced package does not mean more discounts. Take the 128RMB package as an example, each family has only 500min call and 30GB traffic based on the 500Mbps rate, with an excess of 3 yuan / GB. At that time, the price of the 4G package had been rolled up to a certain extent, and you could get 20GB traffic for more than ten yuan, which led many friends to question this awkward pricing at that time.

Touyuan: from the network based on this, operators have launched a traffic speed limit plan, which allows users of 4G packages to download only 300Mbps as fast as possible, and allows people who need 5G speed to handle 5G packages, dividing the population into demand groups.

As the prices of 5G packages are completely affordable, future operators can only compete for users through services and base station coverage.

At a time when the three major operators are feeling very difficult, the number-to-network transfer service has become a hot spot (no contract can be transferred to the network). More and more users realize the importance of the contract package and begin to re-select the operators that provide the service in this way.

Tu Yuan: from the Internet, to be honest, I find it too difficult for me to be an operator. I have only seen such besieged scenes in my dreams.

So, after the past few years, what countermeasures have operators chosen at this time? Let's go to the business hall and have a look.

Because the small business hall of China Mobile may not know enough about some company policies, so I chose a larger official business hall.

Photo Source: game ByArsT when I entered the business hall, the clerk in the mobile business hall enthusiastically promoted the current package to me. The first one was a "collection bag", with a total of 666 yuan for the whole year, an average of 55 yuan a month.

Image source: the game ByArsT package includes 500 minutes of domestic calls, general traffic of 15GB, and converged exclusive traffic of 30GB (similar to exclusive application free flow). If there is a need for broadband processing, it will also provide 200m broadband for one year.

The package looks very attractive, but in fact, this package has a certain bundling nature. We just talked about the premise of "carrying a number to transfer the network" is that there is no contract, and this is accompanied by an one-year package contract. it's obviously a way for mobile to retain customers.

And it is understood that this package is not an exclusive 5G package, but a 4G package, which is still under the conditions of the speed limit 300Mbps.

After a period of friendly communication, at my request, the little sister in the business hall took out the real 5G package leaflet in an inconspicuous place. from the price point of view, the lowest price has dropped, but the package content has also been reduced.

Image source: the minimum consumption package for game ByArsT is 78 yuan per month, which is half of the 128yuan package traffic, and there are only 50 minutes left for voice calls, which is the same as the previous 200 minutes.

The price rights and interests of other packages have hardly changed.

In addition, I also saw a contract-based 5G package with concessions on price and minutes.

Summary:

1. The main 4G contract package is used to bind consumers and prevent the loss of users.

2. The 5G package is not the main recommended package, and the clerk in the business hall did not take the initiative to introduce it.

3. The price of the 5G package has hardly changed.

It seems that China Mobile also knows that the original price of the 5G package is almost unavailable.

At first, I found a personally sponsored Unicom business hall, that is, a small roadside Unicom shop, but the clerk's words made it hard for me to believe that what I heard was true.

Photo Source: game ByArsT according to the clerk, the current Unicom owner is promoting a package called "step by step", and it is not only local in Beijing, but should be national, and it needs to be online for half a year, that is, a contract of half a year, 59 yuan a month, 300 minutes of phone calls and 20GB traffic. After the contract expires, every month on the Internet is accompanied by 1GB traffic, that is, the origin of "step by step".

Best of all, the clerk told me that it was a real 5G package, not a 4G package with a speed limit.

As the clerk told me that this set meal belongs to the contract 5G package, and there is no flyer, so I can only write it down. It is hard for me to believe that the shop assistant also recommended a pure flow card to me.

Picture source: game ByArsT takes this traffic card called "Peak Card". According to the shop assistant, it can only be used to use traffic, and does not support the phone call function. The monthly fee for this card is 59 yuan, including 50GB general traffic and 100GB Beijing area traffic, totaling 150GB.

Are 5G packages so cheap? I didn't believe it. I was afraid that the shop assistant would not know how to talk nonsense to me, so I chose to set out again and find an official business hall to have a chat.

Picture source: the game ByArsT was taken at the door of the official business hall of Unicom, and what came into view was the "step by step" package introduced by the shop assistant and me, which is different from the shop assistant's introduction is that the flow of this package is actually 15GB, in which 5GB is a gift flow, so the total 20GB.

Photo Source: game ByArsT and then I went to the clerk and asked him to introduce the package to me. Unexpectedly, the package introduced to me by the clerk surprised me even more. After asking me about my needs, he recommended a 38-yuan package with a total of 7GB general traffic and 100 minutes of voice calls.

This is also a real 5G package?

I asked him about the "Peak Card" and "step by step" I learned before, and the clerk clearly told me that these two packages are real and both are 5G packages, that is to say, enjoy the 500Mbps high-speed rights.

In the previous 129 yuan ice cream 5G package, there is basically no discount, the shop assistant will not take the initiative to introduce this package, unless the user offers it.

Image source: summary of ByArsT photo taken in the game:

1. Unicom also promotes contract packages to bind existing users and attract new ones.

two。 In order to be more competitive among peers, all 5G packages are selected for sale.

3. The price of the old 5G package has not changed, and there is no main promotion.

4. Although it is for marketing, it breaks the "hidden rules" of the previous three major operators for the unification of 5G package charges.

China Telecom in fact, China Telecom is my first stop on this trip, but it still shocked me a lot.

When I entered the telecom business hall, the clerk in the telecom business hall asked me in a slightly arrogant tone: what kind of business are you here for?

Photo Source: when I said I wanted to get a mobile phone card, ByArsT handed me a flyer with the price of the 5G package, which is the same as the previous one, and the price has not changed. The only change is that if you choose "24-month contract version" when dealing with these packages, you can get a "coupon for buying a mobile phone", ranging from 780 yuan to 3512 yuan.

Photo Source: game ByArsT camera means, I apply for a mobile phone card here, (on the basis of the contract) I have to buy a mobile phone for this discount?

It's interesting.

At that time, I actually had a bit of a fluke and asked him if there were any other packages. The price was too high, not even the 4G package. The eldest brother told me, no, if you want to apply for a telecommunications card like "King Card" online, there is a certain risk. It is possible that this card belongs to some unknown small place, or you can apply to the official telecom website. There are no other packages for you to choose from.

All right, you are an employee of the telecom business hall. It's up to you.

Summary:

1. Telecom basically did not make any concessions on the 5G package, and the price and content of the package remained basically unchanged.

two。 In addition to the original 5G, many contract options have even been added, and the benefit given is the "Rolls-Royce 500 yuan coupon".

3. 5G packages become the main sales force (4G packages are not sold offline).

When it comes to maintaining tonality, it has to be telecommunications.

China Radio and Television if China Telecom is the one that makes me feel most insincere, then China Radio and Television is the one that comes out fastest after I go in.

Photo Source: it is a coincidence that there is a Chinese radio and television business hall upgraded from Gehua Cable near our company, but when I entered, the little sister of the business hall told me that because there were too many Chinese radio and television accounts recently, many of them were resold, used for telecommunications fraud, gambling and other illegal scenes, and were concerned by the relevant departments, so this business hall could not provide card service for the time being. I have also called other Chinese radio and television business halls to understand that if you want to purchase cards offline, you need to be a Gehua Cable user, if not Gehua Cable users cannot handle it.

When I asked what the package was, my little sister handed me two flyers, saying that all the packages were on the two flyers.

Let's take a look at the flyer. The package on the flyer is divided into two types: the wonderful package and the 5G package, which are divided into the 4G package and the 5G package. The most obvious difference is the price segment covered between the two. The wonderful package covers a price range of 38 yuan to 68 yuan, while more than 88 yuan is a 5G package.

Photo Source: when Playplay ByArsT joined the ranks of operators in China, it said in the publicity stage that it would play its own game with its coverage advantage and price advantage, describing itself as a "catfish" to change the operator market. The coverage advantage is to share 5G base stations with China Mobile and rent some of China Mobile's 4G base stations; the price advantage is that the 5G package is cheaper than the other three.

The publicity is in place, and to be fair, if compared with the 5G prices of other operators, radio and television is indeed cheap and large. For example, in the lowest 128yuan of other operators, take Mobile as an example, 30GB traffic and 500min call, while the price of radio and television is only 118RMB, and there are 50GB traffic and 400min call.

However, there is one thing that is very bony, and perhaps China Radio and Television did not expect that there are still a large number of 4G package users in the 5G network, compared with which the package offered by China Radio and Television is still very difficult to compete with. It has also been ridiculed by consumers as "cheap".

Like other operators, in order to better retain customers, China Radio and Television has also launched a contract service. If it is promised to stay on the network for no less than 12 months, the price of the package can be further reduced, with a 40% discount for all packages. The deadline is March 31.

In addition to the package activities, China Radio and Television also offers "integrated contract packages" and "charging for mobile phones" activities.

Picture source: game ByArsT photo integration contract package: take the 1199 yuan package as an example, about 99 yuan per month, monthly flow 20GB and 50 minutes of phone calls, but also a designated model of 5G mobile phone, but the contract is 24 months, longer.

Charging for mobile phones: radio and TV has designated three mobile phones that require an on-line agreement for 24 months, with 38 yuan and 58 yuan at the end of each month, with 10GB traffic and 50-minute calls (58 yuan for 20GB traffic and 100-minute calls).

The three phones are MOTO G53 (927 yuan for e-commerce platform), MOTO G71S (1349 yuan for e-commerce platform) and realme 10 (1599 yuan for e-commerce platform).

The most important thing to note is that at present, the full range of iPhone and individual Android phones do not support China Radio and Television's 5G network. When choosing and purchasing, you must look up your phone model on the terminal adaptation page below the official website of China Radio and Television in advance to confirm whether you support it or not.

Summary:

1. The price of the 5G package is very competitive compared with mobile and telecom.

two。 In the same contract play, a 40% discount is much better than a "machine purchase coupon".

3. Need Gehua cable TV box, it is recommended to buy a card online (no TV box is needed).

4. Indeed played the role of "catfish", but forced Unicom to reduce the price to fight on the same stage.

5. As part of the shared mobile 4G base station and 5G base station as well as the new band support, it depends on personal devices and signal coverage.

6. There are certain requirements for models to use 5G network.

Written in the end: domestic 5G commercial has been opened for more than three years, thanks to excellent infrastructure, domestic 5G signal coverage has made great achievements. By the end of 2022, China has built and opened a total of 2.312 million 5G base stations, the total number of base stations has accounted for more than 60% of the world, and is gradually moving from urban to rural areas, on this level, the domestic 5G infrastructure has become mature.

However, compared with the relatively complete 5G infrastructure, in terms of consumer-oriented, the four major domestic operators still have not found a suitable price direction.

This is not a new contradiction. In my opinion, it is a "problem left over by history". It is precisely because of the frenzied fight among the major operators in the 4G stage that there are "panic buying packages" that exceed the performance-to-price ratio in each price segment, so that when the impact of "switching to the network with numbers" comes, it is difficult for operators to keep their "one-mu and three-point land".

This has directly led consumers to scoff at the high-priced 5G package. However, I do not sympathize with the operators. After all, if they choose to take stimulants, they will have to bear the side effects of weakness.

Judging from the visits during this period of time, operators are still cleaning up the "mess". 5G packages are not competitive, and operators do not hesitate to promote 4G packages and contracts to retain consumers, relegating the already 5G packages to 4G, putting the cart before the horse.

Second, the operators are still proud that the 5G package did not cut prices uniformly, resulting in that when China Radio and Television entered the game with a low-cost package, China Unicom repeated its old trick and once again offered a low-cost 5G package, the market is likely to be disturbed again. If this goes on, users in the 6G era will have to face the current situation.

To sum up, at present, only China Unicom has a certain advantage in price, but the content of the package is still not as good as the 4G package currently sold on the Internet, and judging from the various measures taken by operators at present, there will be no major changes in the 5G package in the future. if you are still using 4G packages, users can not change for the time being.

If you really want to wait for the operator to send 5G benefits, it will be 6G by then, isn't it?

This article comes from the official account of Wechat: non-objective Laboratory (ID:zhinan617).

Welcome to subscribe "Shulou Technology Information " to get latest news, interesting things and hot topics in the IT industry, and controls the hottest and latest Internet news, technology news and IT industry trends.