5G commercial use will be completed in one year, and the survey found that most consumers are still waiting and watching

Recently, Ms. He, a citizen, has frequently received calls from operators’ customer service to promote 5G packages. “The package costs over 100 yuan, so I won’t consider upgrading to 5G for the time being.” The reporter visited the market and learned that the “overwhelming” promotion of 5G commercial use, which has officially “landed” for one year, is in sharp contrast to the rational treatment of some consumers. “The salesperson said that only if you buy a 5G phone and upgrade the package can you get the operator subsidy discount.” Aunt Liang, a citizen, just bought a 5G phone for her son who is in high school for 2,500 yuan. However, she said that if there is no subsidy of several hundred yuan, she will still choose a 4G phone.

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The survey found that the limited selection of 5G packages, high costs, insufficient availability of mid- and low-end mobile phones, and lack of "killer" applications have become the embarrassment and helplessness of current consumers in the transition from 4G to 5G.

Rates:

5G package prices are relatively high

"My monthly mobile phone package costs 88 yuan/month, which includes 30G of data. There is WiFi in the office and at home, so I can't use up all the data every month. Sometimes I even turn on a hotspot to share it with my family," said Ms. He, a citizen who has received calls from the operator's customer service from time to time in recent months, but she said she couldn't figure out why she had to upgrade to a 5G package.

Although operators have recently launched a variety of 5G package discounts, 5G packages are still "expensive" in comparison. For example, the cheapest 5G package of China Mobile is 89 yuan/month; the lowest 5G package of China Telecom is 129 yuan/month; the cheapest 5G package of China Unicom is also 129 yuan/month. In other words, the monthly cost of a new 5G package is at least 100-130 yuan.

The "2020 China 5G Mobile Internet User Experience and Attitude Survey Report" released by a third-party organization shows that the charges for 5G mobile communication packages are too high. 49.2% of the 5G mobile phone users interviewed believe that the current expensive package prices are their biggest problem, and 44.8% of the non-5G mobile phone users interviewed believe that the high price of 5G communication packages is the reason why they do not buy 5G mobile phones.

Awkward:

Lack of phenomenal applications affects the popularization of 5G

Data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology shows that in September, 26 new 5G mobile phone models were launched in the domestic market, accounting for 44.8% of the number of new mobile phone models launched in the same period, and shipments reached 13.99 million units, accounting for 60.0% of mobile phone shipments in the same period. This proportion has reached 60% for four consecutive months.

For the entire domestic smartphone market, the development of 5G mobile phones can be described as "a unique one". Domestic mainstream manufacturers such as Huawei, vivo, OPPO, Xiaomi, and Honor have covered the 5G mobile phone market at different price points, with models available from high-end prices of more than 5,000 yuan to mid-to-low-end prices of 1,500 yuan.

"One of the main factors affecting the popularization of 5G is the lack of phenomenal applications," said many industry insiders interviewed by the reporter. Looking back at the transition from 3G to 4G, the WeChat "grab red envelope" was one of the applications that really made consumers feel that they had to change to 4G mobile phones, as well as short videos, live broadcasts, mobile games, food delivery, mobile payments and other applications.

Facing the new 5G, industry insiders said that phenomenal applications are likely to emerge in areas such as private cloud, ultra-high-definition live broadcast, large-capacity video, and the currently popular Vlog. In April this year, the three operators jointly released the "5G Information White Paper". Will 5G information, which is the focus of operators, "run out" in the next 5G era? Analysts believe that 5G information may become the first 5G application to be implemented and popularized in China, which will create new market opportunities.

expert:

The development of mid- and low-end terminals needs to be strengthened

Compared with the personal consumption side, after a year of development, 5G presents a different picture on the industry side. The latest data shows that from January to August, Guangdong built 61,625 new 5G base stations. The number of 5G package users in the province reached 20.74 million, and a total of 98,613 5G base stations were built. Among them, Guangzhou 5G Industrial Park was approved as one of the first 5G industrial parks in Guangdong Province.

In the view of industry experts, the important value of 5G networks is to go beyond the communications industry and be applied in thousands of industries. The difficulty lies in how to combine it with industry needs and provide impetus for industry digitalization through innovative scenario-based applications and operation models.

Recently, Wu Hequan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, mentioned in his keynote speech at the main forum of the IMT-2020 (5G) Conference that on the first anniversary of 5G commercialization, while seeing the achievements, we also need to face up to the existing problems such as immature technology, high operating costs, and difficulty in digesting costs. The development of 5G is inseparable from innovation, and it also requires broader cooperation in the industrial chain. Wu Hequan pointed out that there are not many types of mobile phones to choose from at present, and there are very few below 1,000 yuan. In the future, there will be greater demand for mid- and low-end terminals, and development efforts must be increased. In terms of industry terminals, it is necessary to enrich industry modules and chips through cross-border cooperation with vertical industries, but the current cooperation business model is not clear.

Reporter's observation:

On November 1 last year, my country's 5G packages were announced to be "landed". The latest data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that my country has currently opened 690,000 5G base stations and connected more than 160 million users. As of the end of September, my country has basically achieved 5G coverage in cities. According to data disclosed by basic operators, the total number of 5G package users of China Mobile and China Telecom has reached 178 million.

In fact, after a year of popularization, citizens' awareness of 5G has increased, but most people are not willing to upgrade to 5G, and generally believe that the current prices of 5G terminals and 5G packages are too high, so they choose to wait and see. Operators and terminal manufacturers should launch more low-priced 5G packages, more cost-effective 5G terminals, and increase application research and development to make consumers really willing to pay for 5G.