Virtual operators "Low price" frustrated One-third card Enterprises no movement

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Original title: Virtual operators "Low-cost tariff" failed

Recently, the domestic companies have been licensed to virtual operators have announced their own business direction and tariff scheme, no package, not clear 0, unlimited dozen ... The virtual operator of the exclusive number 170th, so that users have a lot of expectations. However, with the price of a virtual operator after the decryption, the user is expected to low price competition for telecommunications services, the situation did not appear, virtual operators are still in a relatively robust way, in the test of the market response.

Jinghua Times reporter Gu Xiaoyu jinghua Times Charting what will

-Current situation

One-third no movement.

At the end of March this year, Eschde the first 170th-number test phone, meaning that the virtual operator's 170 business has the basis to enter the market. At the beginning of May, the telephone world in Hangzhou put number, became the first place number of virtual operators, and then entered the virtual operators to release the brand, announced the intensive period of tariffs, Jingdong, Suning, di letter, days, Ali ... One virtual operator after another has flashed a secret weapon that has been brewing for a long while. This June and July, will also become a virtual carrier business focused on the market, accept the peak of user choice.

It is reported that the Ministry of Industry at the end of 2013 and early 2014 to two batches of a total of 19 private enterprises issued a virtual operator license, and the provision of paragraph 170th for the virtual operator of the exclusive number of segments. The so-called virtual operators, like agents, from Mobile, Unicom, telecom three basic operators there "lump" part of the communication network, and then through their own billing system, customer service number, marketing and management system sold to consumers. This also means that future virtual operators are more flexible in terms of tariffs and services than base operators.

However, competing licences are not the same as the competition, after the license, the 19 companies in the operation of the virtual operators of the rhythm and investment is uneven, and even some enterprises in the license after the few sound. Up to now, 13 of the 19 companies have announced their own virtual carrier business brands, 11 have officially announced the business charges, which means that nearly half of the virtual operators have not yet clear their own tariffs, of which one-third of the virtual operators after the license, In fact, there is no real business progress to be seen.

Low price competition does not appear

Before each virtual operator announces business charges, many users are full of expectations, that the virtual operators to join the market competition, may be driven by a significant decline in telecom service tariffs; Even some virtual operators who do traditional business are secretly worried that internet predators such as Beijing East and Ali are entering the market, Whether the Internet industry will be low-cost, or even free competition means to bring in, by burning money to seize the market, so that more profit-oriented traditional enterprises can not resist.

However, when a virtual operator to decrypt the price, many users disappointed, some companies are relieved. Judging from the 170 business charges already announced, in addition to the snail mobile "card-free" half a year phone unlimited dozen considerable impact, other virtual operators of the business charges are not outrageous, even the Beijing-east, Ali so rich and powerful Internet giants, tariffs are not low, or even with the three major carriers compared to the existing tariffs, There are some disadvantages.

For example, from the current release of these virtual operators business fees, voice service tariffs are basically in 0.15 yuan/min, and the flow of business charges are also concentrated in 0.15 yuan-0.2 yuan MB range, and after the latest round of price reduction, China Mobile's lowest tariff has dropped to about 5 cents per MB, while the Chinese unicom 4g/3g integration package has reduced the flow rate to about 6 cents per MB, which is much lower than the virtual operators ' fees; in voice business, The three major operators of voice services in the package has been reduced to 0.1 yuan per minute below the level, also less than the virtual operator.

Again, China Unicom in accordance with the free combination of packages, 200-minute calls, 100M traffic and 200 SMS composition of the package, the monthly fee of 50 yuan, and in accordance with the charges of Ali Communications, the tariff level of this package is about 58 yuan, and another free combination of the package of virtual operator Eschde, The same stall package monthly fee to reach 69.5 yuan, are higher than unicom.

The tariff pattern is still innovative

Although for now, virtual operators to join, and did not bring direct decline in telecommunications services, but these virtual operators still use their own some of the innovation, rewrite the three major operators for many years unchanged traditional tariff mode, some newer and more personalized tariff pricing scheme will face the choice of users.

From the appearance of the virtual carrier tariff scheme can be seen, private enterprises obviously in innovation and taste of courage. For example, there are a number of virtual operators in the design of tariffs have no package, no monthly rent policy, the same, the three operators are difficult to step package flow 0 policy, in some virtual operators of the tariff scheme has become a reality.

Among all the virtual operators, tariff scheme to break the largest when a snail mobile and Ali Communications, the former "999 card-free" direct cancellation of the concept of monthly billing, users can dial in half a year after a limited number of voice calls and the use of zero 3G flow, especially the telephone unlimited dozen settings, It does cater to a lot of telephone business users demand, and Ali Communications will be all business charges unified flowmeter fee, telephone length, text messages are converted to a certain proportion of flow after billing, but also in line with the current operator "flow management" mentality.

-A probe

Background construction threshold is higher

There are still a lot of enterprises in the license after the absence of movement, there are virtual operator insiders told reporters that the industry caused by the uneven phenomenon of cold and heat is mainly two: first, the virtual operator backstage Support system construction technology threshold is relatively high, channels, customer service systems such as the construction of the need for greater input, which for some large-scale, Powerful virtual operators are not the problem, can be completed in a relatively short period of time, but for some small and medium enterprises with limited strength, it is not an easy thing. So at present the charges will soon enter the scale of the virtual operators, the basic are some well-known enterprises or only to serve the regional market enterprises.

Another important reason, say insiders said, is that some companies are not using this as a profit to apply for virtual operator licences, but to use the licence to increase their share price or open the way for IPOs, even if some companies take the licence as a scarce resource. "Different purposes also determine different approaches. It can be foreseen that some future virtual operators will be more and more big, while others will choose to quit at the right time.

and operators still need to running-in

In addition, although more than half of the virtual operators have announced their own tariffs, but in fact, 170 of business has not really large-scale to the hands of ordinary users. As you can see, even the virtual operators who have announced the details of the business, most of them are still in the reservation status, and there is no real number, a few companies have begun to put the number of enterprises, the number of 170th cards released is not much, has not entered the batch stage.

In this connection, China virtual operator Industry Alliance Secretary-General Shong explained that in the virtual operators before the official batch listing, the virtual operators and operators to carry out back-Office system docking, business pressure testing and so on a series of work, only to ensure that the system is working normally can really start the scale of the number.

For these virtual operators, and mobile, unicom, telecommunications, the three major telecommunications operators of cooperation, will also be an important test. In these 19 enterprises, some enterprises, especially mobile phone channels, such as Eschde, Di Tong, Le language, suning, and so on, and operators have close cooperation, for them, and operators of cooperation is not a problem; but there are some enterprises, the previous contact with the operator is not much, the two sides do not have the tacit understanding, This also leaves a potential problem for cooperation.

Last month, as a game-born Suzhou snail, its virtual operator Business "card-free" in announcing the number of the day, it was from China Unicom directly stopped. This case also shows that for the virtual operators such as snails, and operators of communication, running-in on, there is a long way to go.

Price restricted by wholesale price

In the case of low price charges, which are not expected, virtual operators say they are not unwilling to lower prices, but that the wholesale prices they get from upstream operators limit their space on price cuts.

Di Huang Jianhui senior vice president told reporters that in individual markets, operators to virtual operators of the wholesale price even higher than the market price, while most of the wholesale market prices, although to lower than the market price, but coupled with the virtual operators of their own various costs, The final virtual operator to make the product price is higher than the operator's price. And for the virtual operators, to do the telecommunications business, the need for the necessary profit margin is also very important, not to make money in the business is no one would like to do. "Now we can only say that there is a certain amount of profit space, but this space is really limited." "Huang Jianhui said.

Shong, secretary general of China's virtual carrier Industry Alliance, also confirms this. According to him, taking Jingdong as an example, Jingdong from the operator to get the voice business wholesale price should be 0.105 yuan/minute, and then 0.15 yuan/minute price sold, 0.045 yuan per minute profit, while the flow of business profit margins are lower, per m probably only one or two points of profit.

The price difference is too low, also becomes the virtual operator faces the common problem. "We hope that with the increase in the number of users, we can get lower wholesale prices from the operators, so as to lower the price and better market competition with operators." "said the head of a virtual operator.

-Observe

Who would prefer to be a virtual operator?

What kind of enterprise can do the virtual operator? It seems premature to answer the question, but what kind of enterprise is more willing to become a virtual operator, from now on the situation has been able to see some clues. Of the 19 companies that have been licensed, 10 are affiliated with communications products or services, and channel operators are now the main components of our virtual operators.

And in these 10 channels, can be subdivided into three types, one is the entity chain stores, including Suning, Gome, Di-Tong, music language, telephone world; the second category is the electric business platform, including Jingdong and Ali, three categories are distributors, including the Eschde, and the technology.

It is not hard to understand that the channel business is more willing to do the virtual operator, one of the important reasons is the business relevance. Many of these channel operators are mobile phones, this is the most connected with the mobile communications business products, in fact, very multi-channel business has been helping the three major operators of sales numbers, packages and other business, the user needs to know very well, do the virtual operator business will also be with its main business to produce good cooperation.

"We've been helping carriers sell packages, but we've had some money that we can't make, and we can only watch carriers take it." "Liu Donghai, founder of the company, explained why he valued the business of virtual operators. The money he says he can't earn includes the amount of money the user exceeds the package, the amount of money that the user packages are due to follow, and the money the user spends on the value-added business. "We are the only operators we can really make this part of the income." ”

In addition to these 10 channels, other virtual carrier sources are more diversified, including two game industry enterprises north latitude Communication and Suzhou snail, do bus mobile TV network bus online, to provide industry communications or mobile Internet Services 35 interconnection, the Yangtze River era communications, China Xiang Lian, tele-special communications, sharing online, and engaged in futures, logistics and other aspects of the business medium-term group.

The internet is an industry subversive factor?

Although in 19 enterprises, the electric business platform only Jingdong and Ali two, but the most let other virtual operators wary of the outside world is considered most likely to subvert the entire industry, is precisely the two with pure internet gene of the electric business enterprise.

"We started out most worried about competition from internet companies," he said. "An insider from a virtual operator who has a solid channel of Origin admits to reporters. In his view, compared with other industries, internet companies have several advantages. First, the fund is sufficient, wont use 0 profit or even free card to kill the opponent, the second is good at internet-style marketing, more catering to the needs of young users groups, the third is strong innovation, new play more. "If Internet companies are going to burn money to play free business, there's really not much we can deal with," he said. ”

Fortunately, however, he was worried about the price competition did not really appear, whether the BoE or Ali, in the final pricing is quite rational, still for their own to maintain a certain degree of business profit margins.

Liu Donghai that, whether it is a traditional enterprise or Internet enterprises, do not profit from the virtual operators will eventually play. In the same way, he does not believe that the traditional entity channels such as di-Shun are not playing in the business of virtual operators. "Previous experience with operators has proved that our ability to sell package business is not comparable to the electricity quotient." In the era of virtual operators, this is our strength. ”

-Prospects

Tens of millions of users is just a matter of time

In the view of some virtual operators, the U.S. TracFone is undoubtedly the most successful template, the world's richest man Carlos's virtual operator, in the United States has more than 23 million users, the world's single market users the largest and most successful virtual operators. Compared with the United States, the market is bigger than the Chinese market, it is entirely possible to birth comparable to TracFone, even more users than its virtual operators.

Yijiangnam said that from the global market, after more than 10-15 years of development, the market in mature countries, virtual operators of the user in their mobile users accounted for about 10%. According to this ratio, the total user size of China's virtual operators is expected to reach 1-1, 500 million, and according to the 28 principle, 80% of users will be concentrated in the hands of a few leading companies. "This means that the domestic virtual operators, should be able to produce a user size at least the enterprise of the thousand households." And the goal of the communication is to become a member of the Tens, the formation of the user scale, become a world-class virtual operator. ”

Liu Donghai to the development of the virtual operator to pass the target is also within five years to reach the Tens user scale. "It's hard to survive a virtual operator without a broad user base." Only the user to the millions to make the cost back, and tens can really form a competitive advantage in value-added services to get more space. ”

Whether it is the tens or the sky or other enterprises, the size of the Chinese market to calculate, the production of virtual operators of the size of users should be only a matter of time.

The future "only sell coffee, not water."

Yimin, general manager of China Unicom, once described the relationship between the base operator and the virtual operator, and he likened the base operator to selling water, so it did not want the virtual operators to sell bottled water or bottles of water, but instead wanted the virtual operators to sell tea, coffee or wine. This in fact also pointed to the basic operators and virtual operators between the division of labor, basic operators operating basic voice and traffic services, and virtual operators will be basic voice and traffic packaging, processing, into new products to sell.

At present, these virtual operators in the business innovation packaging is really a lot of thinking, such as the Beijing-East communications business and membership services linked to the introduction of consumption to send calls and flow of the way; the sky Tone launched a number of numbers to share the same package business. "These new business forms embody the different modes of thinking between virtual operators and traditional operators," he said. "Shong said.

However, because the market environment is not mature, enterprises are still groping stage, these innovations are often still in the surface of the form, only the equivalent of boiling water to sell to users, has not really made tea or coffee. Yijiangnam to reporters, because the audio and three operators have signed a resale contract, the future in the package will be shared across operators, such as the user can have mobile 170th card, there are Unicom and telecom 170th card, these numbers share a tariff package, Users can choose the best number to use according to their network environment. But because the three operators in the virtual operator's business progress is different, really want to achieve this is still time.

Does not spell charges with operators

Shong believes that the advent of virtual operators will be the mobile phone era separated into two times, now everyone has a personal contact based mobile phone, that is, personal mobile phones, and virtual operators more advocates for the industry based on the work of mobile phones, in fact, the emergence of virtual operators are not the traditional operator's inherent market share Users will be able to get a new 170 mobile phone number in order to enjoy service in a particular area. "They have their own stock of customers, they can improve their own stock of customer service and the competitiveness of their own products." These 19 virtual operators will survive very well in the future. ”

He also said that the entry of virtual operators brought the thinking of Internet communications, but also for the entire communications industry to bring operational services, business settings and other models, mobile phone cards and users will go very close. This way out, will push the communications industry to deepen the reform. Before the three major operators to service more is the communications industry, the arrival of virtual operators will be able to communicate the ability to enter more industry, driven not only the communication industry chain development, more is the industry chain development, the communications industry has suddenly been pulled big.

"Virtual operators do business and service has been the road of differentiation process, it will not go with operators to fight tariffs, more through their own business and service to realize the concept of value, the operator's basic ability to supplement their own business and services above, Through their own business and service revenue to the preferential part of the small user market. "Shong believes that the arrival of virtual operators for the entire industry to add new vitality, bringing some creativity, innovation and new changes, so that mobile phones closer to the mobile phone users, for mobile phone users a small public personalized service.