Open Broadband Access market: the balance of blood transfusion and liposuction in private enterprises

The Ministry of Industry for Private enterprises to open up after the mobile business of another telecommunications market-broadband services. November 26, the Ministry of Industry issued "on the open broadband Access market views (draft)" (hereinafter referred to as "opinion"), to encourage private enterprises in the pilot cities to participate in broadband access network facilities construction and operation. The ministry has identified the first 16 pilot cities, the pilot period of three years, during the pilot, the ministry will gradually expand the scope of the pilot.

"Opinion" summarizes the experience of the past more than 10 years and clearly plans three types of business models: investing in broadband networks and renting them, building networks and operating broadband services, and reselling broadband services to operators, a ministry official close to the policymaking department told reporters. Each business has a corresponding license, the enterprise can apply for multiple. ”

Good private enterprises and operators

As early as June 2001, the Ministry of Information Industry has issued a circular on the open Broadband Resident network Operation Market Pilot work, opened the Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other 13 pilot cities in the broadband market. Great Wall Broadband, April network, founder Broadband and other well-known private broadband operators have been established in this period.

The Great Wall Broadband was acquired by Dr. Peng in 2012, which is currently the largest private operator in China. As a result of the rapid growth of broadband services, in 2013, Dr. Peng realized a net profit of 434 million yuan, an increase of 110%. Among them, the Great Wall broadband contribution profit of 295 million yuan.

In addition to private enterprises, the State Grid, radio and television also circumstance into the broadband market gold, respectively, the establishment of the CLP Fei Hua, song Hua cable companies to carry out broadband services. Even the real estate giant Pan Shiyi has also set up "WorldCom online" to provide broadband networks for its 25 Soho.

"The market has spawned many private broadband and has spawned a variety of business models," he said. However, most of them are not regulated and there are problems such as community monopoly. The cooperation process and the settlement standard of the basic operators and private enterprises are not clear, and the functions of the supervisory departments are not clearly defined. "The Ministry of Industry told reporters:" This "opinion" clear business model, market norms, more importantly, the basic telecommunications operators and private enterprises to cooperate with the way, as well as regulatory departments of the management category. ”

For example, the opinion suggests, "Basic telecommunications enterprises should provide the pilot enterprises with resources not less than the quality of their own business and set up corresponding wholesale price adjustment mechanism"; "The telecommunication Management Organization should organize the relevant work of the local open broadband access market, and explore and perfect the afterwards supervision policy"; It is particularly noteworthy that " Pilot enterprises can participate in broadband China projects, broadband demonstration projects, universal services and so on, and enjoy relevant policies. ”

"This is a very enforceable, market-based policy, basic operators, private enterprises, the regulatory division of the functional division are very clear." "This policy is good for private enterprises and operators," said Yang Hongwei, deputy dean of the Network Institute of Jiangsu Provincial Post and Telecommunications Planning Institute limited liability company. ”

Alleviating the shortage of funds

"I think this policy is tailor-made for us," he said. "Inner Mongolia Jin Tian Technology founder Hangyong said. Hangyong has worked in operators for many years, in 2010, the transformation of the founding of the Golden Field technology, into the broadband market.

"If operators are self built networks and their own use, it will lead to high investment costs, waste of resources and other issues, but also affect the user choice." "Hangyong believes that" can be a third party enterprises to build communications infrastructure, and then a fair lease to all operators, which can save a lot of construction costs. Private enterprises can and operators to carry out business income sharing. ”

2010, the field of technology to undertake the Hohhot Wanda Plaza Communications Infrastructure construction Project, "Construction, maintenance, we do, operators are only responsible for business operations, saving the construction, transportation and maintenance costs." And we use a network to provide the business of the three major operators, the cost is diluted, income is also good. ”

"Although the market recognized, but always worried about the policy is not clear, now relieved." "At present, Hohhot more than 90% of the new community to adopt this model, Jintian technology has begun to expand business in several provinces."

The business model of Jintian technology coincides with the demands of the basic operators.

In October this year, China Telecom chairman Wang said publicly in an internal meeting in Guangdong Province: "Broadband construction depends on the group's funds is not enough, must rely on social capital, should find some capable cooperation, we take out 5-10 years of part of the income, but can be changed back to the user, the market." The transformation of the household line is rather cumbersome, but we must play the battle well. ”

Broadband is China Telecom's "cash cow" business. 2013, China Telecom broadband users reached 100 million, broadband revenue reached 99.3 billion yuan, accounting for the total income of 31%. 2011-2013, broadband revenue accumulated to 262 billion yuan. But at the same time, the broadband business also needs high capital expenditure, before, China Telecom deputy general manager Zhang Jiping has announced: "2011-2014 years, China Telecom broadband investment more than 100 billion yuan." ”

But now China Telecom's broadband market is beginning to suffer from the mobile crisis. On the one hand, at the end of 2013 to harvest broadband business license of China Mobile, with a strong financial advantage to launch "300 yuan/year, 10M speed" of low-cost broadband quickly seize the market, the price of about 1/3 of telecommunications. On the other hand, telecom groups have had to reduce broadband investment to 4G as the peak of 4G construction has arrived.

A Chinese telecom insider told reporters: "From last year, we have to report with the Ministry of Industry, hope that the early clear open broadband market policy, and private enterprises to jointly develop the market." ”

Slow regulatory package should be landed as soon as possible

But it needs to be clear that private enterprises to enter not only blood transfusion, but also "liposuction." The Ministry of Industry told reporters: "The new forces and traditional operators will certainly appear contradictory, need to study in the pilot perfect regulatory support." ”

Interviewed by the private enterprises prefer the "market-intensive, high profit" of the first line, second-tier cities, "rural, market penetration is not high, we can not afford, and perhaps after the urbanization, the rural area was built." It is best for operators to do their own, they have universal service support. ”

China Telecom insiders said: "Now the main new market is the township market, but the margins of the thin place, private enterprises do not want to, the profit is good place, we also reluctant to let too much." Moreover, a wide range of cooperation will lead to a lot of network quality, service responsibility is difficult to define the problem. ”

Zhigang, a well-known telecommunications expert, commented in an interview: "The core of the ministry's policy is to attract private enterprises to solve the long-standing problems in the broadband market, such as heavy capital burden and difficult to access the household." There is a need for institutional innovation and an attractive mode of cooperation. ”

Zhigang briefed the reporter on the case of Heilongjiang. Since October 2013, by the Basic Telecommunications enterprises recommended and communications construction enterprises to recommend, Heilongjiang Communications Administration has introduced 44 private enterprises, the introduction of the total amount of people's capital amounted to 130 million yuan, to help the basic operators save construction funds 160 million yuan. In the meantime, Heilongjiang Communications administration has set up three kinds of coordination mechanism, which provides the evaluation mechanism of policy support to the private enterprises, guarantees fair, normative and orderly regulation mechanism of the market, and punishes the repaying mechanism of the enterprises with illegal laws and regulations.

The telecom market needs private enterprises, but the prospect of private enterprises in the telecom market depends on the cooperation mechanism of the operators, as well as the corresponding regulatory policies of the communications authority. A person familiar with the matter told reporters: "For a long time, the local authority has been relatively weak and the manpower shortage in the management Bureau can only be improved a little." ”

But he also said: "The national broadband users over 200 million, annual growth of nearly 30 million." But the current total user of private enterprises is only more than 10 million, there is a lot of space. ”

(Responsible editor: Lvguang)