The three major operators have entered the "red ocean" of 5G mobile phones. Where does their confidence come from?

Since the commercial use of 5G, China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom have successively launched their own brand of 5G mobile phones, which has attracted the attention of the industry. Behind the three major operators' rush to enter the market of their own 5G terminals, it is not difficult to see that the potential of the 5G terminal market is gradually emerging. As we all know, there are Huawei in the front and Xiaomi, OPPO and other brands in the back of 5G terminals. The competition for 5G mobile phones is fierce. What is the intention of operators to launch their own brand mobile phones? Can they stand out in the mobile terminal market?

[[419792]]

Why did the operator launch

Self-branded 5G terminals?

Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the development of industry and information technology in the first half of 2021. The data showed that my country has opened 961,000 5G base stations. The full coverage of 5G base stations has largely driven the user demand for 5G smart terminals. Major network technology companies and mobile terminal giants have released 5G mobile phones one after another. They already have rich experience in mobile phone manufacturing and a certain user group. At this time, why do basic telecommunications operators also cross over to join such a fiercely competitive mobile phone track?

On the one hand, it helps to attract consumer groups and obtain business profits. Mobile terminals in the C-end market - mobile phones can be said to be the link closest to the consumer group in the industrial chain. If operators are afraid of or give up launching their own brand of mobile phones, then many of their own terminal businesses will be taken away by mobile phone manufacturers, especially in the face of international manufacturers with strong funds and technology, leaving operators with very little profit. However, the current 5G application market is booming. Operators rely on their own experience in the communications industry and customer groups to launch their own mobile phone brands, which can better flatten the industrial chain, connect the user market, and accurately feedback market demand to terminal manufacturers and industries.

On the other hand, it can further improve the 5G ecosystem of operators and open up a closed business loop. With the layout of 5G, various 5G application scenarios are gradually enriched, and 5G has great potential in smart homes, smart communities, digital travel, etc. Operators can improve their own industrial chain and control their own development rhythm by launching their own brand mobile phones, and use 5G terminals to develop synchronously with other 5G businesses of operators themselves.

What are the advantages of operators' own brands?

As of the end of June, 5G has covered all cities above the prefecture level in China, with about 365 million 5G terminal connections. Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, VIVO, Apple and other mobile phone manufacturers have launched their own 5G mobile phones. What are the advantages of the three major operators entering the 5G mobile phone arena and launching their own brands?

First, independent brands can combine their own communication services to provide users with a better service experience. Operators launch their own brand 5G mobile phones, which often come with many communication services and even various forms of discounts on mobile phone rates, which are difficult for general mobile phone manufacturers to provide to users. For example, China Telecom's previously launched Tianyi No. 1 cloud phone has a preset Tianyi cloud disk, through which users can quickly synchronize data to the cloud, relying on China Telecom's "connection + network + data" multiple trusted protection solutions to effectively protect users' personal privacy and data.

Secondly, operators have a fixed customer base and can fully grasp the trend of user demand. Unlike ordinary mobile phone manufacturers, operators have been deeply involved in the communications industry for many years, have a highly sticky customer base and a sales model of online stores and offline business halls, and can obtain users' 5G needs in the first place, facilitate users' 5G life, and "customize" 5G packages. For example, the Maimang 10 SE 5G mobile phone, a full-network brand, released by China Telecom in July, can enjoy 5G cloud package services upon purchase, and provide free cloud space for users.

Operators enter the market

Challenges in the 5G terminal "track" remain

The prospect of operators entering the 5G terminal market is promising, but the competition in the mobile phone market is fierce. How to face the challenges and find a way to survive in the 5G mobile phone field is of utmost importance.

First, the risks in the 5G mobile phone market need to be borne by the operators themselves. Operators entering the market of self-branded 5G mobile phones are different from cooperating with mobile phone manufacturers and providing business services to mobile phone manufacturers. Operators need to bear the risks themselves, whether it is product quality, maintenance or even shipment risks. Therefore, when operators enter the mobile phone market, they must not only consider how to retain and attract users, but also bear the risks of the mobile terminal industry.

Second, since the operators entered the Internet, they have not formed a "killer" product. Operators have been on the road of their own brand terminals for many years, but until now, no "explosive" or "killer" products have been born. The current smart mobile terminal market is highly homogenized, and the mobile phones launched are similar. If they want to gain a foothold in the smart mobile terminal market for a long time, operators must accelerate innovation and create "explosive" products to "stand out" in the 5G smartphone industry.