The three major operators achieved double growth in revenue and profit: the realization of 5G commercial value has driven the recovery of the industry environment

With a bang, spring comes. It is not only the climate that is gradually warming up, but also the overall environment of the entire industry.

Recently, the three major domestic operators have successively released their operating results for 2021. Their revenue and profits have increased significantly, and they have performed well in the development of new digital businesses, entering a new growth fast lane. There are many driving factors behind this, but it is not difficult to find from the annual reports that 5G has played a significant role and its commercial value has begun to be realized.

Congratulations on double growth in revenue and profit

Compared with the dilemma of "one bowl of soup, one bowl of soup" faced in previous years, the past year can be said to be a year of comprehensive reversal of the industry situation, and the performance of telecom operators is the most intuitive reflection of this.

In chronological order of annual report release, China Unicom's operating revenue reached RMB 327.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.9%; of which service revenue reached RMB 296.2 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.4%; and net profit was RMB 14.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 15.0%.

China Telecom's operating revenue reached RMB 434.2 billion, an increase of 11.3% year-on-year; of which service revenue was RMB 402.8 billion, an increase of 7.8% year-on-year; net profit attributable to parent company shareholders was RMB 25.952 billion, an increase of 24.4% year-on-year.

China Mobile's operating revenue reached RMB 848.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10.4%; of which service revenue was RMB 751.4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.0%; profit attributable to shareholders was RMB 116.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 7.7%.

It can be said that the three major operators have delivered the best performance in recent years and have made a great comeback, which is even more commendable considering the already huge base and the uncertain external environment. The reason for this is that 5G, which has already seen fruitful development, has made an indelible contribution.

5G commercial value begins to be realized

From the 4G era, where people said that "a house was sold overnight" to the "5G is useless" theory, it is not uncommon to hear people pessimistic about 5G. The annual reports of the three major operators are undoubtedly a sharp counterattack. Thanks to the rapid deployment of the network, the synchronous development of terminals, the endless emergence of use cases, the strong support of policies and the strategic focus of operators, the commercial value of 5G has begun to be realized.

In the second year of official commercial use, my country's 5G penetration rate has crossed the value inflection point and has been mapped to the ARPU value through flexible package design. For example, China Mobile has developed 387 million 5G package users by the end of 2021, with a penetration rate of 40.4% and a 5G ARPU of 82.8 yuan.

China Unicom and China Telecom also saw an increase in mobile user ARPU. China Unicom stated in its annual report that it regards value management as the top priority of business development, closely following the development trend of 5G consumption digitalization, onlineization and integration, and continuing to deepen 5G leadership to drive the increase in both the value and scale of mobile business.

At the same time, with the rapid development of the digital economy, 5G has also become an important tool for operators to develop government and enterprise businesses and emerging businesses.

On the one hand, 5G provides a more efficient and reliable data transmission channel for vertical industries. China Telecom's annual report mentioned that it deeply integrates digital economic elements with the real economy, and the 5G customized network commercial project covers all key industries of the 5G application "Sailing" action plan. On the other hand, 5G is a digital enabling foundation that organically integrates digital technologies such as big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, thereby stimulating more innovative applications and business models. A brokerage report pointed out that in the 5G era, the B-side business of operators will blossom in an all-round way, and the growth rate far exceeds that of the C-side business, which is becoming a new feature, and the proportion of business is expected to continue to increase.

While delivering commercial value, 5G is also accelerating its value in promoting social progress and improving social welfare. For example, during the epidemic, 5G has been widely used in epidemic prevention and control, smart medical care, remote production and other fields, strongly supporting the stable operation of the social economy. For example, through 5G+education and 5G+medical care, rural or remote areas are expected to obtain the same education and medical resources as big cities; through 5G-based remote control, workers can work more safely and with more dignity in the office.

At present, 5G has entered a new stage of value output. According to the rule of mobile communications, one generation every ten years, I believe this is just the beginning. With the further deepening of operators' 5G strategies and the further development of the 5G industry, we will have a better tomorrow.