The dilemma of contemporary 5G users: From being 5G to returning to 4G, we should slow down

If the elderly are the ones abandoned by the Internet, will 4G users also be the ones abandoned by 5G?

In November, the topic of "being 5G" became a hot search topic with more than 90 million views. This happened to be the first anniversary of the commercial use of 5G packages of the three major operators. After a year of vigorous promotion, "being 5G" may be the most vivid description of the current situation of the industry. In daily life, the promotional advertisements of 5G packages can be seen everywhere, which has left the most profound impression on people who have seen it - fast, using 5G, you can be one step ahead of others, which has also made many people itchy.

5G

The 5G packages are naturally accompanied by 5G mobile phones. Judging from the industry development in the past two years, 5G mobile phones are basically launched first, and packages are launched in conjunction. However, as far as the current situation is concerned, the 5G packages of the three major operators have relatively low options, and the prices are also higher than 4G packages. The starting price of hundreds of yuan makes many people discouraged. In addition, many users do not have a clear understanding of 5G mobile phones and 5G packages. They think that buying a 5G mobile phone must apply for a 5G package. This has led some people to start a 5G life. Even if the 5G coverage in their area is not ideal, they will be particularly proud to talk to people around them that they are already a noble 5G user.

5G, please wait

In the hot search of "being 5G", there is actually a very eye-catching reality. The major operators' apps put 5G packages in the spotlight, and the entrance to the 4G package has disappeared. The author also personally tested the China Mobile APP and China Unicom's Mobile Business Hall APP on the phone. After a lot of trouble, he did not find the entrance to the 4G package. Instead, the entrance to the 5G package can be seen everywhere. People who may not often use these two apps can also successfully apply for it for the first time. Industry insiders revealed that in order to promote 5G packages, operators have removed low-priced 4G packages in some places. If users need to apply for 4G packages, they can only go through offline business halls and telephone customer service.

China Unicom

Take my personal experience as an example. Some time ago, I changed the 4G package of China Mobile for my family. I searched for a long time in China Mobile APP but couldn’t find the application entrance. Both the cheap and expensive 4G packages were gone. Later, I had to call customer service to solve the problem. Such operations may be common for children who are familiar with Internet routines, but for the elderly at home, I am afraid that they have no choice. Moreover, how many children are out of touch with their parents' lives nowadays? Who can teach these elderly people?

Of course, at the time of writing, I saw that Beijing has begun to strictly investigate the 4G packages that have been removed from the shelves and the inability to lower the package level. Citizens can call the 12300 Telecom User Complaint Hotline, or log in to the "Telecom User Complaint" column on the homepage of the Municipal Communications Administration's official website to submit complaints online. The Municipal Communications Administration and the Telecom User Complaint Acceptance Center will handle user complaints in a timely manner, and will investigate corporate violations to the end. Seeing this official statement, I believe everyone can rest assured.

China Mobile

Data shows that in the first three quarters of 2020, the number of China Mobile 5G package users reached 114 million; as of the end of September, the number of China Telecom's 5G package users reached 64.8 million. For Telecom and Mobile alone, the number of 5G package users exceeds 170 million. The operation data of the Institute of Information and Communications Technology in September showed that in the first three quarters of 2020, the cumulative shipments of 5G mobile phones in the domestic market were 108 million units, and the domestic shipments of 5G mobile phones last year were 13.769 million units, with a total shipment of 122 million units. The number of 5G packages exceeding the number of 5G mobile phones can only indicate two problems. One is that two or more cards of a person are 5G packages, and the other is that many 5G package users may still be using 4G mobile phones, or even 3G mobile phones, and they are properly "5G".

In fact, the former situation is often handled by the user himself for business needs, while the latter situation is often owned without knowing why. When we want to get some other discounts, we may fall into the cycle of being 5G. Many stores will advertise that when selling mobile phones, you can get a discount of hundreds to thousands of yuan by applying for 5G packages at the same time. If you want a discount of hundreds of yuan now, you may be trapped in the 5G package fee of tens of yuan more per month in the next few months or even years, which is not a rigid demand. Only by recognizing what we really want can we be less passive.

5G, handle as appropriate

At the 2020 Phoenix Technology Innovation Trends Forum held recently, Lv Yanjie, executive vice president of the China Information Economics Society and professor at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, said that the number of 5G users in the world is currently about 250 million, with China accounting for nearly half, and the cumulative shipment of 5G base stations has exceeded 1.5 million. For Beijing alone, as of the end of August this year, a total of 44,000 5G base stations have been opened in Beijing, and it is expected that more than 50,000 base stations will be opened by the end of this year, achieving continuous outdoor coverage within the Fifth Ring Road and the city's sub-center, and precise coverage of key areas and typical application scenarios outside the Fifth Ring Road.

5G

Returning to rational life, we should not be overwhelmed by the 5G that is being promoted in full swing. Take the author in Beijing as an example. I am one of the first users to upgrade the 5G package, but now a year has passed, and the perception of 5G is not so obvious. Especially now that operators are vigorously promoting "Use gigabit at home and 5G when going out", as a diligent office worker, most of the time outside every day is in the subway, and the current 5G coverage in the subway is not ideal, and even some sections of the road have unstable 4G signals, which makes it difficult to use 5G. After returning home or going to the company, you can directly use WiFi. Who would use 5G? This is the case in Beijing at present, and the 5G experience in other cities can be imagined.

As a media person, the most common application scenario for 5G is speed testing, which tests the speed of 5G mobile phones from major manufacturers. But for ordinary users, who would do speed testing every day? This also leads to the problem of the lack of 5G application scenarios. In daily use, there is no obvious change in experience except downloading, speed testing, and watching videos online. If you want to feel the obvious changes brought about by 5G, you may have to wait for a while.

5G

Looking around the world, the hottest topic about 5G recently is "560,000 Korean 5G users return to 4G: dissatisfied with 5G speed and operator services". South Korea, which is at the forefront of global 5G construction, has become the "target of public criticism". Reports show that as many as 562,656 Korean consumers have switched back to 4G services from 5G due to dissatisfaction with the poor quality, insufficient coverage and high charges of 5G, accounting for 6.5% of the total number of 5G users of South Korea's three domestic mobile operators. And now it is easy to lead to an embarrassing problem. Switching to 5G will cause the phone to consume more power faster, but you can't enjoy the speed that 5G should have. This is the pain of many 5G users.

Judging from the current test results, a 5G mobile phone using a 4G network will often have a battery life about two hours longer than using a 5G network. If you are in a 5G weak signal area where you need to frequently switch between 4G/5G signals, the battery life may be further shortened. From the perspective of battery life, 5G mobile phones can only operate at full power under the optimal 5G signal. Otherwise, not only will the speed not be increased, but the phone will also become a power hog.

China Unicom

In addition, as far as the 5G packages themselves are concerned, there are still many unreasonable aspects, such as insufficient options and insufficiently low charges. Of course, the author is more concerned about the flexibility of package matching. Take the 5G packages of the current three major operators as an example. They are all fixed packages starting with traffic + 500 minutes of calls. If you are a heavy Internet user, the starting traffic may not be enough, and 500 minutes of calls can leave 499 minutes every month. In this case, many people have to choose a higher-level 5G package. The final result may be that the traffic is enough, but the remaining call minutes have increased from 499 minutes to 999 minutes, and they have to pay for the call time that they don’t use or don’t need at all.

China Mobile

Of course, the current situation may be a forced decision in the early stage of 5G package launch, such as 5G construction costs and concerns about network congestion caused by too much traffic. But we hope that by the end of this year or next year, operators can launch some more flexible 5G packages, such as pure 5G traffic without additional call time, tariffs of less than 50 yuan, and low-end 5G packages with unlimited speed, so that users have more freedom in choosing 5G packages.

Final Thoughts

In the past, letters were slow and travel was long. Now, 5G makes travel long. The romance of the letter era has become a thing of the past. In the midst of the rapid development of 5G, we should learn to slow down, give ourselves time to think, and let the people we should accompany not miss the last train of 5G. Facing 5G, we need early adopters and we also need "old hunters" who are as stable as Mount Tai. From the perspective of operators, I may hope that everyone will be eager to try it, but from the perspective of a media person, I still hope that most people can be old hunters. Only in this way can you have the last laugh in this hunting game.