Lessons from China’s 4G breakthrough

The number of 4G users exceeded 50 million, a goal originally set for the end of the year, but was achieved at the end of October. According to the latest information obtained by reporters, the number of 4G users based on my country's independent standards is expected to exceed 70 million by the end of the year.

From being unpopular at the beginning to developing rapidly today, it has driven the development of related domestic industries. Under the heavy blockade of foreign technology and standards, how did the Chinese communications industry, which was once so backward that it was laughed at, break through? What enlightenment does it bring?

Unexpected 50 million

"The number of 4G users has exceeded 50 million, and the annual user development plan was completed more than 60 days ahead of schedule. TD-LTE development has entered the fast lane." Twenty days ago, this information released by China Mobile surprised many market observers.

Prior to this, the market was generally pessimistic about 4G based on China's own TD-LTE standard. When China Mobile announced in the middle of the year that the number of 4G users was only 10 million, there was a voice with considerable market influence that "it would be difficult to exceed 20 million throughout the year." After the competent authorities approved the LTE hybrid networking trial, the voices of pessimism about the development of independent 4G became even more pessimistic.

However, according to the latest information obtained by the reporter, the number of 4G users based on independent standards is expected to exceed 70 million by the end of the year. Behind this figure, as of the end of October, China Mobile has built 570,000 4G base stations, and is expected to reach 700,000 by the end of the year, exceeding the total number of 3G network construction in the past six years, covering more than 300 cities, and realizing 4G roaming with 27 countries and regions including the United States.

Correspondingly, domestic communication companies and people benefited from it. Reporters learned that ZTE provided more than 26% of base station equipment, followed by Huawei, and domestic products have been on par with foreign base station products; at the same time, the number of 1,000-yuan 4G smartphones has jumped from zero to 400, with the lowest price being only 399 yuan, of which domestic brands accounted for more than 60%, and more and more people can afford 4G.

The development of the 4G market based on independent standards has far exceeded expectations. China has always been lagging behind in the field of communication technology. In the 1990s, at a meeting of the International Telecommunication Union, some people called my country's communication experts "three Ss", namely silent, sleeping, and incompetent, reflecting that my country has no international influence and voice in the field of communication technology.

Yang Hua, Secretary General of the TD Industry Alliance, said that currently, mainstream international communication manufacturers are stepping up the R&D and production of TD. Qualcomm, which used to rely on itself as a "patent giant", has to accelerate its investment in TD R&D and chip production under the pressure of the market and start paying patent fees to China. Data shows that by the end of October, the GTI (Global TD-LTE Development Initiative) initiated by China Mobile had 114 operator members and 95 manufacturer partners.

Parallel with FDD in the 4G era

"Although we cannot conclude that my country's 4G has gone from lagging behind to leading, it has at least proved that China can successfully achieve breakthroughs in both standards and markets with its own technology," said Yang Hua.

Once upon a time, due to the lack of its own mobile communication standards and technologies, my country's operators and communications companies could only use foreign technologies, and massive amounts of patent fees flowed into the hands of international monopoly giants.

Under the government's insistence and positive guidance, after a long and arduous research and development, the TD standard stood out from more than a dozen international standard schemes and became one of the world's three major 3G standards. China Mobile was given the mission of promotion by the government, and TD truly entered the lives of Chinese people.

Although international companies are generally reluctant to recognize the TD standard, after the technical reserves and industrial chain of the 3G era have further matured, the fourth-generation mobile communication standard TD-LTE has successfully evolved, breaking through the resistance and blockade of international communication industry giants, and striding into the international market with great vigor and confidence, becoming an international mobile communication standard parallel to FDD in the 4G era.

"From the beginning of the development of the technical framework, we have formulated a strategy to bypass Qualcomm's core patent technology framework for independent research and development. Now my country accounts for 71.8% of the core patents involved in the TD standard." Yang Hua said. In the 3G era, the user experience of TD-based mobile phones was not ideal, and many people suspected that it was due to the inadequacy of my country's independently developed TD technology. Wu Hequan, chairman of the Internet Society of China, said that there are three reasons: TD industrialization is immature. When 3G licenses were issued in 2009, TD terminals and chips were several years behind international standard technologies; overseas manufacturers such as Qualcomm and other giants resisted Chinese technology and did not produce TD products, resulting in low market recognition; it is related to China Mobile's strategic layout, which will focus more on 4G technology.

It is precisely because of the technological accumulation during the 3G period and the hard work of the industrial chain that China was able to take great strides forward in the first year of 4G.

Boost confidence in the development of national industries

For a long time, some people have been reluctant to buy "domestic products", believing that they are "copycats" of poor quality and lack independent innovation. However, the development of the TD industry has established a Chinese flag: ZTE and Huawei mobile phones have now entered the global market, and their international sales are greater than those in the Chinese market.

Data shows that in the past year since 4G was put into commercial use, the shipment volume of domestic mobile phones in the domestic market has skyrocketed. The sales of Samsung and Apple, which previously dominated the market, have declined significantly, and the recognition and love of domestic terminal products by Chinese people have greatly increased. It must be said that from the "big brother" of tens of thousands of yuan to the current smart phones of thousands of yuan, the people can use more, better and cheaper mobile phones, which is inseparable from the country's leading TD independent innovation and promoting industrial development. "Without our own technology, communication companies lack core competitiveness and can only buy technology from abroad, so the price of communication products will naturally not come down." said a person in the mobile phone industry.

"The country's support for independent innovation of TD technology has driven the transformation and upgrading of the entire industrial chain. For example, the chip, instrument and related core component industries have now grown and entered the international market," said Wu Hequan.

He said that the vigorous development of the TD industry has enabled more and more people to see my country's determination to adhere to independent innovation and has boosted confidence in the development of national industries.

"This is a process of regaining confidence." Yang Hua said that although the TD industry chain still lags behind foreign companies in terms of technology reserves and patents, the innovation and success of TD has brought a good demonstration effect to the development of other industries in my country. In fact, the continuous emergence of high-quality domestic products in industries such as automobiles and software has strongly proved that "Made in China" is not limited to "copycats". As long as we insist on independent innovation and strengthen positive guidance, the development of national industries will surely reach a new level.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.