Unicom and mobile operators announced two major series of price promotions

Liu Fangyuan

On the eve of "5.17 Telecom Day", Unicom and Mobile operators successively announced the price promotions. The threshold of 4G services and tariffs are further reduced.

May 13, China Unicom announced the launch of a minimum threshold of 10 yuan free combination package, and half a year 1G traffic 10 yuan snapped up activities. In addition, all traffic and voice packages are subject to 20% discount during the "Unicom 5.17 Online Shopping Festival".

May 14, Mobile also released its own price adjustment details. Overall, the highest unit price drop in the new tariff reached 50%. In addition, Mobile has come up with quarterly and half-year traffic packages similar to "end-of-month non-clearing" virtual operators.

Recently, with the centralized distribution of various virtual operator brands, many companies use the telecom tariff hot topic. Most virtual operators have proposed their own tariffs more preferential services more features. Some manufacturers even put forward a free slogan to attract the user's eye.

The centralization of mobile Unicom prices for virtual operators come from? In this regard, the two operators were denied.

Xing Hongtao, deputy manager of the Price Management Division of China Mobile Market believes that the logic of this round of adjustment is that after six months of development, the mobile 4G subscriber base of China Mobile rapidly covers from the high end to the low end. From the perspective of moving itself to develop subscribers, Adjustment.

However, Xiong Yu, general manager of China Unicom's marketing department, responded directly to saying that some of the current propaganda functions of virtual operators are still "eye-catching" and the actual effect needs to be judged by everyone after the official release.

However, this round of price adjustment by operators will have a huge impact on the virtual operators who are about to put their numbers in volume in June. Simply by speculation price war virtual operators, will be difficult to survive.

4G tariff features reduced

Compared to the current mobile phone tariffs, China Mobile for its own 4G new tariff summed up several features.

The first feature is the threshold is lower. The new 30 yuan 500M traffic package, reducing the old user "join" 4G threshold. In addition, 4G flying enjoyment package also increased a number of middle and low packages, the lowest package also dropped from 88 yuan to 58 yuan.

The second feature is more affordable prices. 4G new tariffs in the highest unit price drop of 50%. Taking the 70Gy 1G traffic package that customers are most concerned about for the original 4G package as an example, they can get 2G traffic in the new package at 70 Yuan, and the unit price of traffic drops by 50%.

In addition, for the global package of old users, the package fee unchanged, the same number of minutes of speech, based on the mobile automatically these users increased traffic several times the original package. At the same time no longer distinguish between 2G / 3G and 4G packages of different foreign fees, unified package outflow reduced to 0.29 yuan / MB.

The third feature is service. Customers using 4G packages can authorize 1-4 relatives and friends to share their own packages within the flow of 10 yuan per person per month charged functional fees. In addition, China Mobile also introduced the traffic "quarterly package" and "half-year package" in response to the problem that the user's monthly traffic usage does not necessarily mean "no clearing".

Xing Hongtao put forward that mobile in the package design hope to achieve the goal is to launch the future "flexible smart package." That is, each month according to the customer's spending dynamic match the most appropriate monthly flow rate of a file, so that customers do not have to tangle in the end each month how much the package, but according to the actual use of automatic matching.

Jiang Zhengxin, the deputy general manager of China Unicom, also summed up the three characteristics for the price promotion activities of China Unicom. The first point is "autonomous", users can choose their own, arbitrary combination of tariff elements, customize their own packages.

The second point is "convenient", users can directly through the online business office and mobile phone business hall for business, custom, changing packages.

The third feature is "affordable", during the online shopping festival Unicom, for its own portfolio of users, you can enjoy the traffic package, 20% discount voice package, the minimum monthly fee of 8 yuan. In addition, 1G flow through the mobile phone client order six months package, you can also play 1 fold, only 10 yuan.

For mobile Unicom's price cuts, telecommunications has not yet been followed up.

Virtual operator's way out

Three of the top three operators have already started to cut prices in order to develop 4G. This is not good news for eager virtual operators.

As early as the eve of the trial licensing of virtual operators, the industry has explored the current existence of our country as a "mobile resale business" where the existence of virtual operators in the end where living space?

As the virtual operators do not build their own network, infrastructure such as network coverage must rely on the traditional three major carriers. So for them, the means to attract users only two directions: First, tariff cheaper packages more attractive, and second, there are more special services.

The profit margin in the first direction is based on the spread between the "wholesale price" that the virtual operator gets from the operator and its own "retail price" that is recombined.

A virtual operator who had told reporters that they negotiated the wholesale prices from the operator to get, compared to the previous 4G tariffs have not had too much room for profit, "little price space." The price cuts after the mobile Unicom, leaving the virtual operator space will be smaller.

"I think operators should still cut their wholesale prices down." Some virtual carrier executives told reporters that they want better conditions to be negotiated in the next round of price negotiations.

On the other hand, there are also virtual operators that think there is no alternative to price war with the three major operators. Zhao Jian, executive president of the group, has expressed to 21st Century Business Herald that their package design is just like that of operators, and it does not change the operator's price system but provides value-added services.

Zhao Jian believes that the future survival of virtual operators space, certainly not in the sale of communication packages, but to provide services that combine their own characteristics. The language is currently found in the service direction is "mobile health" areas, combining a variety of smart wearable devices to create a platform.

Di letter founder Liu Donghai also told reporters that the key to virtual operators or services should be differentiated. In his opinion, in fact, the current publicity hype is still more concerned about the industry. And we want to fight for the target user, or need to be officially put numbers, by solid service and reputation to obtain. (Editor Lu Aifang Xin Court Wei)