Yixin 3.0: Another desperate battle for operators

Since Tencent launched WeChat Phonebook, "free calls" has been the focus of media attention. Although WeChat Phonebook is not truly free, it has once again put the three major operators at the center of public opinion. While everyone was criticizing the three major operators, Yixin quietly released the 3.0 beta version, which featured free calls. This move by Yixin was quickly interpreted by the media as a positive response from the operators to WeChat Phonebook.

Free is no longer just a gimmick

"Free" has always been an important gimmick in Internet publicity. Regardless of whether the product is really free or not, as long as the word "free" is used in the publicity, it can often attract a large number of onlookers who are unaware of the truth. As early as when the WeChat phone book was launched, the "free calls" in the promotional advertisements successfully attracted a large number of people to spread spontaneously. Unfortunately, the WeChat phone book cannot realize free calls in the true sense. Once the prerequisites cannot be met, the free calls will become paid calls. Because of this, free is just a gimmick for the WeChat phone book.

Unlike WeChat Phone Book, the free call function launched by Yixin this time uses a communication technology called "dedicated line phone". According to the author's investigation, the so-called "dedicated line phone" is actually an intelligent network service. Unlike ordinary people making calls, dedicated line phone users do not directly call the other party, but dial the calling number and the called number respectively through a third party to finally complete the call connection. Since the cost of answering a call is much lower than making a call (in most cases, answering is free), this service is widely used in international long-distance roaming, government and corporate services, and other scenarios that need to reduce call costs. It can be said that Yixin's free calls are truly free, which is completely different from the network calls that consume traffic in WeChat Phone Book.

With the name of being free, how many users can YiXin attract?

With the name of free calls, YiXin has indeed attracted a lot of people's attention. On the day when YiXin 3.0 was released, a large number of YiXin free calls advertisements appeared on my Weibo and Moments. Since this software is still in the limited internal testing stage, I applied for the qualification of the internal testing. Using this software, I used my own China Unicom number to call colleagues with different operators. The whole call process was not only clear in sound quality, but also did not consume any data. It can be said that the reliability and practicality of the software are better than WeChat Phonebook.

But how many new users can YiXin attract with free calls alone? The author conducted a simple survey and found that the people who are most interested in free calls are those with limited call time in their packages. In particular, people who study or work abroad are very interested in YiXin's free international long-distance function because international long-distance roaming calls are expensive. However, for people who already have a lot of call time in their packages, YiXin's free call function has limited appeal.

Since YiXin 3.0 is still in the internal testing stage, those who want to try it out can only apply for the internal testing qualification through the website. The standard for YiXin to review applicants is the activeness of YiXin's use. This threshold naturally blocks many people who do not use YiXin frequently. According to the information obtained by the author, without a lot of publicity, the number of users who have applied for the internal testing qualification has exceeded 400,000. We have reason to believe that as the first free calling software with operator pedigree, the number of users will increase rapidly once the internal testing is over. It has to be admitted that the name of free can indeed attract a lot of people who are very sensitive to prices, especially those born after 1990.

Is YiXin poaching employees from operators?

There is no such thing as a free lunch, and Yixin's free calls are no exception. Although the cost of internal calls within China Telecom is relatively low, once the inter-network settlement fee is involved, the cost of Yixin's free calls is still very high (currently, a one-minute call from China Telecom to China Mobile and China Unicom costs 0.04 yuan). Because of this, Yixin's free calls are actually a subsidy from China Telecom and NetEase to users.

On the one hand, the loss of revenue caused by not collecting call charges, and on the other hand, the high settlement fees paid to competitors, Yixin's free strategy seems to be poaching from operators, but is it really the case? The author interviewed an Yixin insider who did not want to be named. It turns out that many of the "free terms" of Yixin 3.0 have special intentions, and the focus is on the user rating system. Similar to the standards for Yixin's internal test users, user activity has become an important standard for measuring user levels. By incentivizing the activity of different users, Yixin can not only enhance user stickiness, but also stimulate users to use Yixin functions more, which has a very obvious effect on solving the problem of insufficient activity of Yixin users. From this perspective, although Yixin 3.0 is poaching from operators in the short term, in the long run it is more beneficial than harmful, and it can even be said to be an important step for operators to transform to the Internet.

Summarize

It seems that Yixin's goal is far more than just WeChat Phonebook. It is not correct to simply regard Yixin's free calls as a counter to WeChat Phonebook or even the other two operators. Under the dual pressure of OTT business diversion and the non-issuance of 4G licenses, the operators finally made their own choices. It is better to take the initiative than to passively take a beating. Under the background of free voice services for mainstream operators around the world, the operators finally took the first step of free voice services through Yixin. Although the step was a bit hasty, it is undeniable that it represents the determination of the operators to burn their boats.

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.