Operational data of the three major operators in May: 5G has a unique outlook

Now in the motherland, more than 10,000 5G base stations are added every week. "On May 25, after the second plenary session of the third session of the 13th National People's Congress, Miao Wei, Minister of Industry and Information Technology, introduced the speed of my country's 5G network deployment to the outside world on the "Minister's Channel".

The rapid development of 5G is also reflected in the scale of users. Recently, the three major operators released their operation reports for May. Data shows that the total number of 5G users of China Mobile and China Telecom exceeded 80 million. In May, China Unicom has not yet announced the number of 5G users, but considering the size of Unicom and Telecom and the mutual construction and sharing of 5G base stations, its 5G user data will not be much different from the latter. In other words, the total number of 5G users of the three operators may have exceeded 100 million.

In addition to 5G users, other operating data of operators have improved significantly compared with previous months, especially China Telecom, which has won the "Grand Slam". The number of users of main businesses has increased, and the net increase in mobile users has increased by 2.68 million against the trend.

In May, China Mobile's 5G users continued to outperform the rest, while China Telecom's mobile users were overwhelming. In comparison, China Unicom's performance was slightly inferior. Facing the future battle for users, China Mobile holds the 700MHz weapon in front, while China Telecom continues to eat into China Unicom's market share behind. China Unicom's user loss may have just begun.

User growth shows dynamic balance, number portability effect begins to show

With the arrival of 5G, more and more operators around the world have announced 2G/3G network withdrawal plans. Some countries in North America and Asia-Pacific are at the forefront of the global 2G/3G network withdrawal process, and the 2G/3G network withdrawal process in other regions is also in full swing.

Among domestic operators, China Unicom is the most active. China Unicom plans to completely shut down its 2G network by the end of the year. According to relevant information, 2G users account for about 2% of the total number of Unicom users, which means that about 5 million people will be affected by the shutdown of Unicom's 2G network. These users will have two choices: one is to upgrade to Unicom's 4G network, and the other is to switch to other operators.

The withdrawal of 2G networks usually takes a long time to prepare, but China Unicom is a bit too hasty. In addition, with the convenience of number portability, all this seems to be moving in a direction that is not conducive to China Unicom.

In terms of specific data, China Unicom's mobile billing users decreased by 540,000 in May, reaching a total of 309 million. The number of mobile billing users has decreased by 9.73 million this year. Among them, 4G users increased by 1.905 million this month, reaching a total of 258 million, and 4G users increased by 4.472 million this year.

In this regard, China Unicom stated that from January to May 2020, in the face of challenges such as market saturation, fierce market competition and the new coronavirus epidemic, the company insisted on rational and standardized competition through self-discipline, strengthened differentiated and Internet-based operations, innovated communications supply, strengthened integrated operations, strictly controlled user development costs, and actively cleaned up inefficient and ineffective products and channels to maintain the company's value. At the same time, it actively promoted new information application products and worked hard to promote high-quality development.

As a partner of China Unicom in 5G co-construction and sharing, China Telecom's performance is quite different. Data shows that China Telecom's mobile user base has increased by 2.68 million, with a total of 341.2 million mobile users. While the existing user base has been exhausted, China Telecom's mobile user growth has increased month by month, and it has topped the list of net mobile user growth for several consecutive months. Obviously, this is because it has gained most of the users lost by Unicom.

Among the three major operators, China Mobile is still the most dazzling one. According to data, China Mobile's monthly net increase in customers in May was 252,000, and the total number of users reached 946.979 million. The net increase in 4G customers was 3.809 million, reaching a total of 757.534 million.

In terms of fixed-line business, the overall situation has been determined. Since China Mobile took the first place, the number of net new users has maintained a steady growth. In May, China Mobile's wired customers increased by 2.015 million, reaching a total of 195.195 million. China Telecom's wired broadband users increased by 680,000 in May, with a total of 153.35 million wired broadband users. China Unicom's fixed-line broadband users increased by 402,000 in May, reaching a total of 85.543 million, and the net increase of fixed-line broadband users this year was 2.065 million.

5G commercialization is accelerating and the number of users may exceed 100 million

On June 6 last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially issued 5G licenses, and on September 30, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the launch of official commercial use. Over the past year, the pace of 5G commercial use has continued to accelerate. Domestic operators' 5G package customers have also achieved rapid growth.

In May, China Mobile added 11.864 million 5G package customers, and the total number of 5G package customers reached 55.609 million; China Telecom added 8.35 million 5G package users in May, and the total number of 5G package users reached 30.05 million. It is worth noting that China Unicom still has not disclosed the number of 5G users. However, according to forecasts, the total number of 5G users of the three operators may have exceeded 100 million.

The rapid development of 5G users is inseparable from the construction of 5G base stations. At present, the cumulative number of 5G base stations in my country has exceeded 250,000. According to Miao Wei, Minister of Industry and Information Technology, 5G has accelerated its construction since the beginning of the year, and now more than 10,000 5G base stations are added every week. It is estimated that by the end of this year, my country will build more than 600,000 5G base stations, covering cities at the prefecture level and above across the country. At the same time, the continuous maturity of terminals and industrial chains is also paving the way for operators to develop 5G users.

In terms of 5G package rates that are relevant to users, the three major operators are also offering discounts. Recently, the news of 5G package discounts has caused heated discussions. The monthly fee, which started at 100 yuan, has been reduced to 88 yuan. In the future, as the price of 5G mobile phones drops and the coverage of 5G networks expands, 5G entry-level packages with lower thresholds may be launched within the year, and the threshold for consumers to enjoy 5G networks will be further lowered.