Giant WiFi Mesh: The next mobile entry scramble?

The scramble for commercial WiFi access in China is escalating.

January 27, China Ping An for 130 million Internet financial users and non-ping users to launch free WiFi applications, safe WiFi, in the ping-related wireless network coverage of hot spots can be free internet access. According to Chen Xinyi, chief operating officer and chief information Officer of Ping An group, China's Ping an investment in WiFi has cost billions.

From Tencent, the public comment 300 million yuan investment WiFi service provider Michael, Alibaba 3 billion Guizhou free WiFi, 360 and three telecom operators and industrial chain enterprises nationwide built nearly billion free WiFi hotspot, free WiFi of the war has been a white-hot state.

"In the past, because of the lack of mature business model, the WiFi market is not favored by the capital market. "Media CEO Zhang told reporters, but with the advent of the mobile internet era, the early layout of WiFi will become a new means of competition for mobile portals." And for this shot, Ping an assistant general manager Yang Yichen to "the first financial daily" reporter frankly, ping an free wifi will carry more mobile Terminal Services, for the Ping an Internet finance each forum bedding cornerstone.

The ambitions of the Giants

China's peace is clearly unwilling to miss any chance of a mobile internet era.

According to the data from the ping ' An, the news shows that as of the end of 2014, the total number of Internet financial business users reached 130 million, 67% for external users, the monthly active users tens of millions of. 2014, Ping An Internet service paid user station total number of users 14%. Ping An group of Wi-Fi field, the introduction of free Wifi-app means that 130 million Internet financial users 2015 years of safe WiFi access to free internet, non-ping users can share free 500 million hours.

Ping on the reporter said that there is no strategic or profit considerations, but simply give back to the client, but you can see, internet finance has always been the vanguard of Ping an group. In early 2015, Ping ' an helmsman Ma again for Peace outline strategy, put forward 421 strategy, but "program", no matter which product or business net unavoidable, in the Internet, mobile Internet in the heyday of the development of today, the smooth Internet experience, convenient way of purchase have become the main market power.

"At present, more than 10 million domestic hot spots, overseas will be at the end of March to cover the world's 15 mainstream airport, decorate 20,000 hot spots." Rong, deputy general manager of Ping An technology, said that Ping-an WiFi integrated the three major telecommunications operators and more than 20 wif providers of wireless networks, covering the scene including shopping malls, railway stations, airports, cinemas, subways, cafes and buses, docks, buses and other places.

Zhang to reporters that WiFi is the hardware, operating system, search, distribution, lbs after another large mobile internet portal, is connected to mobile devices and mobile Internet key. Whether it is safe or internet giants, and telecoms operators are doing free WiFi, after all, to compete for mobile internet access, and the network as a basis for all this is clearly the most powerful portal, the Battle of WiFi will be intensified.

Last year, 360 boss Zhou ranked 360 free WiFi as the highest level: 360 free WiFi products are aimed to achieve the industry's second, the first three months of this year will become number one. 360 of the mobile phone assistants and 360 mobile phone guards have been adjusted to the "free WiFi" content. To better promote free WiFi, Zhou personally asked about the product and the content.

Meanwhile, Tencent set up a secure WiFi alliance. Tencent announced that the United Optical Network and other domestic 10 commercial WiFi service providers set up a secure WiFi alliance, claiming to have achieved more than 10,000 ultra, more than 15,000 cafes, more than 35,000 restaurants covered. Among them, the mobile phone QQ5.1 added "QQ free WiFi" function, provided 5 million free hot spots. Then, micro-mail push phone book, known as WiFi status can be free calls.

Tencent insiders told reporters that the Tencent WiFi Alliance encouraged partners to make innovative innovations in commercial WiFi operations: User flow bonuses, and improved commercial channels to help partners find innovative ways to be in a homogeneous WiFi market.

According to the operating rules of the Tencent Safe WiFi Alliance, the Alliance partners can get different levels of Operation resource incentive according to their operational performance. Tencent Wireless security Products operations Director Geming that high standards of entry threshold, perfect incentive mechanism, to help Tencent's security WiFi Alliance partners to get rid of relying on "advertising" This is a commercial road situation.

It is understood that Tencent has already put Tencent mobile phone butler number public platform, micro-trust public platform, the application of treasure, wide-point pass, the public comments, such as high-quality user traffic and commercial channels, to Tencent Safe WiFi Alliance members open resources.

The bottleneck of WiFi commercialization

As early as April 2014, there was news that Tencent wanted to quickly link wi-Fi hotspots via micro-mail, in short, in public places, through a micro-mail access to the Internet, free WiFi.

There are two ways to achieve this, one for the micro-letter to provide a WiFi sharing interface to the router manufacturer. At the same time, the introduction of a corresponding micro-letter public number, the user in support of the corresponding interface of the wireless network coverage site, open the public number, see the surrounding free to share out WiFi, one-click can be logged on the Internet. Another is also Tencent based on micro-letters to provide an open WiFi sharing interface for merchants to support routers on their premises. At the same time, businesses open a public number, users only pay attention to this public number can access the Internet. As a result, the micro-letter will become a key link to free WiFi, thus taking up the portal.

Now, this way of combining business and micro-credit, has let the micro-letter become the main channel of Business O2O, by the letter, the merchant management of their own users and marketing activities, with a profile of the way to operate the store flow, the flow of traffic outside the store, super flow entrance and social flow, quickly let their shop burst into business capabilities. But behind the scenes, WiFi's various innate flaws are also constraining the development of free WiFi.

From the market progress, the commercialization of WiFi is divided into four stages: one is the traditional cloth network, this phase has been in the past, by the telecommunications operator-led, has formed a certain scale. The second is a simple entry dispute, such as an airport WiFi, where a third-party advertisement is made profitable when it is accessed. The third is O2O scene contention, WiFi hotspots become an important O2O connection point, most internet giants fancy is this tuyere. The final stage is the contention of large data based on user data.

From the market point of view, the current mode of business model is single, too much reliance on advertising revenue support Services is not conducive to the expansion of the commercial WiFi market, this is also WiFi has been the capital market, the industrial chain of enterprises on the low level of participation in WiFi is one of the reasons.

Zhang to reporters that the mandatory bomb screen, advertising revenue and so little, difficult to cover the relevant operating costs, and the current bat and a variety of traditional manufacturers to develop free WiFi goal is not to make money, in the exploration of O2O scene mode, but also in the initial stage of training users, can not achieve large-scale operation.

In addition, he said, another factor affecting the commercialization process remains the security issue behind the free "trap".

"The free WiFi market currently lacks a unified service standard and Code of conduct, the basic security capabilities are often overlooked, and users use free WiFi security risks are increasingly prominent, because there is no professional protection, often suffer from some virus harassment and attacks, some people will be the router into phishing sites." Zhang told reporters.

Tencent Wireless Security product operations director Geming once told this newspaper that the current Tencent mobile phone butler monitoring, the country has about 80 million commercial WiFi, but many are not set up by professional institutions, but some small businesses to buy their own routers to provide customers with Internet services, Wi-Fi in these areas has no security or business model.

But what Tencent can do is to improve the WiFi partner's "admission" threshold to be measured by the latitude of active hot spots, technical strength, and cooperative merchant visibility.

For the safety of public WiFi, Rong, deputy general manager of Ping An, said that ping-an WiFi data transmission encryption, in addition through app detection, DNS detection, and rely on the safety and hotspot supplier data to the fishing hot spot screening.

The safety of insurance, products to insure security is not unexpected, Rong said, will not rule out the future with the insurance business combined. During the use of ping-an Wi-Fi, the specified scope of the account, information content is lost, in the user has purchased the insurance and authorization, will be in accordance with the manner stipulated in the insurance claims.

(Responsible editor: Mengyishan)