Operators’ worries: 4G die-hards unwilling to upgrade and “move”

Are you a 4G die-hard who is unwilling to move?

I have recently received frequent calls from operator customer service: "We will upgrade you to a 5G package for free, and give you priority access to 5G network services. The package price is only slightly more expensive than the 4G package you are currently using, but you will get a lot of free data." Such calls come every month.

Considering that my current phone is still a 4G phone and I don’t want to change it, and the package price has become higher, and the data is completely sufficient, I refused to upgrade.

Operators’ worries: 4G die-hards unwilling to upgrade and “move”

Recently, a piece of news that "Huawei Hongmeng canceled the 5G shortcut key" caused discussion. Some users reported that in Huawei HarmonyOS 2.0.0.166 and above, the 5G switch in the control center shortcut switch panel was deleted. However, 5G data can still be turned on or off on the "Mobile Data" page.

In this regard, Li Xiaolong, vice president of Huawei's mobile phone product line, said: "Removing the 5G pull-down shortcut switch is a unified requirement of China's three major operators, because operators have found that many users have bought 5G phones but turned off the 5G switch."

It is reported that not only Hongmeng is required, but all 5G mobile phones launched this year by operators are required not to have this switch.

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As of the end of June 2021, the number of 5G package users of the three major operators reached 495 million, and will exceed 500 million, including 251 million for China Mobile, 131 million for China Telecom, and 113 million for China Unicom. In less than two years, the number of 5G package users will exceed 500 million, and the development speed is very fast.

Although the 5G package has been upgraded, many users still turn off the 5G network. In fact, there are reasons why 4G diehards are unwilling to upgrade and "move":

First of all, the charges are expensive. I searched for 5G packages on the operator's official website, and most of them start at around 129 yuan. Compared with the 4G packages that start at a few yuan, the gap is quite large. And after changing to a 5G package, you will no longer be able to choose to apply for the original package, which means that once you fall into the trap of 5G, you can only play around with the 5G package.

Secondly, 5G network has not yet achieved full coverage. In places without 5G network coverage, upgrading 5G packages is futile.

Third, there are no 5G mobile phones. Because using the 5G network requires replacing a 5G terminal, non-5G terminals can only enjoy 5G tariff discounts when applying for 5G packages, but cannot use the 5G network.

Fourth, people are worried about the high power consumption of 5G phones. 5G phones support uplink 2-antenna transmission, while 4G phones only support single-antenna transmission; 5G phones generally support downlink 4-antenna reception, while most 4G phones only support downlink 2-antenna reception. Whether the number of transmitting antennas or receiving antennas increases, power consumption will increase.

It is reported that the power consumption of 5G mobile phone chips is about 2.5 times that of 4G. "It is estimated that the power consumption of 5G mobile phones is about 20% more than that of 4G mobile phones.

In addition, an industry insider said: "As long as you have a 5G mobile phone, any package can connect to the 5G network, with an average network speed of more than 200Mbps. Who would be willing to change to a 5G package? What's more, many people use 4G unlimited traffic packages, and it is more affordable to use 5G to surf the Internet. More importantly, there are no apps that require strict network speeds. Why should consumers upgrade to a 5G meal?"

Of course, there are no mature 5G applications yet.

The explosion of 5G applications is still waiting for a breakthrough point, perhaps the terminal

Among 5G terminals, mobile phones are the most common. However, among the 5G phones on the current network, only more than 40% use 5G, and nearly 60% still insist on using 4G. The actual utilization rate of 5G networks is less than 3%! After all the efforts, the 5G retention rate is still so low, and operators will inevitably be distressed, but this is the reality:

According to a report released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, from January to July 2021, the total shipments of mobile phones in the domestic market totaled 203 million units, a year-on-year increase of 15.6%. Among them, 5G mobile phone shipments totaled 151 million units, accounting for 74.3% of mobile phone shipments in the same period. As of the end of July 2021, the domestic market had shipped a total of 327 million 5G mobile phones.

Shipments increased, but the number of new models launched decreased. In July 2021, 26 new mobile phone models were launched in China, a year-on-year decrease of 38.1%, including 11 5G mobile phones, a year-on-year decrease of 38.9%, accounting for 42.3% of the number of new mobile phone models launched in the same period. From January to July 2021, a total of 239 new models were launched, a year-on-year decrease of 6.6%, including 121 5G mobile phones, a year-on-year decrease of 4.0%, accounting for 50.6% of the number of new mobile phone models launched in the same period.

It is worth noting that the extension of users' phone replacement cycle has also affected the popularization speed of 5G mobile phones to a certain extent.

The "2020 Second Issue 5G Terminal Consumption Trend Report" released by China Mobile Terminal Laboratory in May this year showed that the replacement cycle of mobile phone users in my country has further lengthened, reaching an average of 25.3 months, which is 0.7 months longer than the results of the last report in October last year, and a full month longer than the first report in 2019.

Wang Jianzhou, former chairman of China Mobile and senior advisor to the Global Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), said in an interview with the media: "The explosion of 5G applications also needs a breakthrough point, and I think it is likely to be the terminal."

The entire industry is waiting for the explosion of 5G applications.

Recently, ten departments issued the "5G Application "Set Sail" Action Plan (2021-2023)", which proposes that by 2023, the penetration rate of 5G personal users will exceed 40%, and the number of users will exceed 560 million; the 5G network coverage level will continue to improve, with more than 18 5G base stations per 10,000 people; the average annual growth rate of 5G IoT terminal users will exceed 200%.

Among them, in the field of personal consumption, a number of new businesses, new models, and new formats of "5G+" new consumption have been created, and the sense of gain of users has been significantly improved. In the vertical industry field, the 5G application penetration rate of large industrial enterprises has exceeded 35%, and 5G applications in the fields of electricity, mining, etc. have been replicated and promoted on a large scale. The scope of the 5G+ Internet of Vehicles pilot has been further expanded, promoting the digital transformation and upgrading of traditional industries such as agriculture and water conservancy. In the field of social livelihood, a number of 5G+ smart education, 5G+ smart medical care, and 5G+ cultural tourism model projects have been created, and the level of 5G+ smart city construction has been further improved. Each key industry has created more than 100 5G application benchmarks.