In 2022, can 5G messaging break through the bottleneck?

Today, the operators' SMS services are already saturated, so the operators have high hopes for the launch of RCS.

However, a report by market research firm Omdia mentioned that telecom operators have been slow to launch RCS, or have lost the opportunity. So far, the RCS Business Messaging (RBM) launched by telecom operators is quite limited, and many telecom operators that have launched RBM are still in the trial stage and have no clear pricing model.

The domestic version of RCS is 5G messaging. Currently, only China Unicom is trialing commercial use of it. China Telecom said it will be commercially available in January, while China Mobile, which has a huge number of users, has not yet had a clear timetable for commercial use.

However, at the "2021 China Value-Added Telecommunications and Virtual Operator Summit-5G Message Summit" held recently, Miao Jianhua, President of the China Communications Enterprise Association, stated that 5G messages are expected to become the first batch of 5G applications for public users.

China Mobile: Commercial use time is not yet determined 5G message private network successfully completed innovative pilot

Although China Mobile has not yet announced a timetable for the commercialization of 5G messages, it quietly announced on December 31, 2021 that the 5G message private network had successfully completed an innovative pilot.

It is reported that China Mobile's 5G message private network has completed two specific industry customer-oriented private network samples: the Lavande Hotel private network and the South China Agricultural University campus private network. In addition, a learning private network for teenagers and children has been created, aiming to create a closed network space that schools and parents can rest assured about. Currently, it has gathered learning private network applications such as Tencent Kaixinshu and Youdao Premium Courses, and explored the application scenarios of industry-gathering platform-based private networks.

Today, China Mobile's 5G private messaging network can easily customize private networks for customers in any industry, making private network activation as convenient as service activation. Users can sign up for one private network, multiple private networks, or both a private network and a large network to meet ToB ToC needs.

At the "2021 China Mobile Global Partner Conference", China Mobile released three innovative products: Super SIM Card, Mobile Authentication 2.0 and SMS Mini Program 2.0 to break through the coverage bottleneck encountered in the development of 5G messages.

Among them, in order to solve the problem of limited coverage of 5G message terminals, China Mobile launched the "SMS Mini Program" service. Users of non-5G message terminals can achieve the same experience as 5G message terminals through "one more step", indirectly achieving full coverage of terminals. Now the release of SMS Mini Program 2.0 can serve as a supplementary solution for 5G messages to achieve full coverage of terminals.

China Telecom: Commercial use will start in January

At the "2021 China Value-added Telecommunications and Virtual Operator Summit Forum - Technology Innovation Conference under the Trend of 5G Converged Communications" held recently, China Telecom revealed that it plans to promote the commercial use of 5G messages in January and is currently in the process of formulating a plan.

January is already halfway through, and I wonder whether China Telecom can successfully launch the commercial service.

China Unicom: Commercial trials have started

In November last year, China Unicom launched trial commercial use.

At the 2021 China Unicom Partner Conference, China Unicom announced the formal establishment of the 5G Message Ecological Alliance. At the same time, it also released China Unicom's 5G message "Smart Message Sailing" strategic cooperation five plans: 5G message terminal development plan, 5G message application promotion plan, 5G message user experience plan, 5G message green governance plan, 5G message ecological empowerment plan, and launched the 5G message Winter Olympics application.

China Unicom stated that 5G messaging is a key project in the company's large-scale application strategy. China Unicom has included 5G messaging in the company's key investment areas, and the planned investment amount may exceed 1 billion yuan.

Terminal support is key

Looking at the US market, RCS has not progressed well in the US because Apple does not support it. Apple phones account for nearly half of the market in the US. Therefore, the support of terminal manufacturers is key.

Currently, there are not many mobile phones in China that support 5G messaging. Cui Wei, general manager of the 5G messaging business department of the software business department of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., also said in an interview with the media that one of the bottlenecks for the rapid development of 5G messaging is the support of terminals. "China Mobile currently has a certain scale of customized machines, and China Telecom and China Unicom are also actively promoting this. The total scale and quantity have not yet reached the expected commercial readiness. More industry partners and upstream and downstream of the industrial chain should be more fully involved, especially allowing terminals to play an active and proactive role, rather than passive participation."

It is understood that China Unicom pointed out in its terminal development plan that China Unicom's own brand U-ChangXiang already supports 5G messages, and has formulated a 5G message strategic cooperation plan, including free purchase fees + financial installments, etc., and at the same time launched a terminal certification plan.