The secrets of the mobile data war: "Unlimited" is conditional

As the deadline for the cancellation of roaming charges for mobile data traffic approaches, advertisements for "unlimited packages" are bombarding people's eyes. The front-line battlefield where operators are fighting each other has suddenly become the battle for mobile data traffic. The price war of mobile phone tariffs has not been so intense for a long time. Last year, the "unlimited" package was still high on the list, and the discounts are getting bigger and bigger. The monthly fee has been reduced from 100 yuan to 65 yuan. However, the current "unlimited package" actually has a "routine", which has caused strong controversy and complaints. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has already spoken out, requiring operators to standardize the promotion of "unlimited" packages and not exaggerate.

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The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a statement: Do not exaggerate unilaterally

In response to telecom operators' publicity issues such as hidden restrictive terms in their "unlimited" packages, the relevant departments of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology held a meeting last Friday and explicitly required operators to regulate their publicity.

"We must attach great importance to the problems existing in the current promotion of 'unlimited' packages. The entire industry should immediately conduct self-inspection and effectively regulate the promotion of such packages. Exaggerated promotion is prohibited, and restrictive clauses must be prominently marked." The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also requires companies to learn from this and further regulate their business operations. They must be truthful and accurate in marketing and promotion, implement clear pricing, and fulfill their obligation to remind users of matters that require their attention, such as restrictive conditions and validity periods of tariff plans. They must not unilaterally exaggerate or confuse the extent of discounts to ensure that users are fully aware of their consumption.

In addition, the MIIT also requires operators to improve package design, pay attention to user experience, explore pricing models that better meet user needs, strengthen tariff disclosure, improve user traffic usage notification and reminder services, and effectively improve service levels.

In response, the three major operators all stated that they would strictly implement the requirements of the meeting, immediately conduct self-inspections, standardize publicity and business operations, and ensure that users are fully aware of their consumption.

Recently, the popular unlimited data package has been pushed to the forefront. Recently, a non-local netizen complained that his unlimited data package had 13GB of data left, but was disconnected because the total data usage reached 100GB. This incident attracted a lot of attention, and the unlimited data package was accused of being a scam. The criticism of the *** is that the unlimited data package is not worthy of its name.

The so-called "unlimited": all are conditional

During their investigation, Beijing Morning Post reporters learned that the so-called "unlimited packages" currently offered by operators are actually conditional. After exceeding a certain traffic quota, the operators will take speed limit measures.

For example, Tianyi's unlimited package clearly states that after domestic Internet traffic reaches 20GB in a month, the Internet speed will be reduced to 1Mbps. China Unicom's Ice Cream package states that after domestic Internet traffic reaches 20GB in a month, the Internet speed will be reduced to 1Mbps. Beijing Mobile's unlimited package promises that after exceeding 20GB and 100GB, the speed will be limited to 1Mbps and 128Kbps respectively.

However, many consumers are not aware of this "hidden rule", and most of the online business halls of operators in various places promote unlimited packages at the top. Only when you click on the product details page can you see the speed limit plan marked in gray or small letters. The Beijing Morning Post reporter noticed that among the various unlimited packages currently launched by operators in the Beijing market, there is no mention of "network disconnection".

"The term 'unlimited' is misleading in itself." Qiu Baochang, a lawyer at Beijing Huijia Law Firm, believes that the term 'unlimited packages' is unreasonable and contains false and exaggerated elements. In his opinion, unlimited packages should not have speed limits or volume limits. For some abnormal traffic usage, such as using it as a WiFi hotspot, operators should make clear distinctions.

"Unlimited data packages have speed limits, which are based on the principle of fairness, and I think they are legal. But the threshold of this regulation should be relatively high. I personally think that in the current environment, the maximum speed reduction should not be less than 40GB, and the speed should reach more than 3Mbps after the speed reduction. Because the APP experience is already very poor with a network speed below 3Mbps." In the view of telecom analyst Fu Liang, since 2016, operators have used the unlimited claim to promote new packages. At that time, the speed was limited when the traffic usage reached 1GB or 2GB, which was an obvious false propaganda. However, recently, operators have promoted unlimited packages and set the watershed of the limit at 20G, which is a special case in the context of "cancelling domestic data roaming fees." The government requires operators to cancel domestic data roaming fees, which has a great impact on the 4G package structure that operators have just established. He believes that there are indeed some problems with the unlimited claim, but most operators have explained the speed limit clause in a prominent position, which is understandable. He also pointed out that the original advantage of unlimited packages is to simplify the packages, but various speed limit thresholds, multi-user sharing, mobile phone and broadband bundling, etc. make unlimited packages more and more complicated. This is the most confusing part.

Who is the most radical? The most exciting point

Unlimited data traffic has become the most powerful weapon for major operators to compete for new users, and the competition is becoming more and more intense. Last month, the highest monthly fee for unlimited data traffic packages in Beijing was 68 yuan, but this record was soon broken.

Beijing Morning Post reporter noticed that Beijing Telecom launched a new tariff plan this month, with unlimited data packages nationwide as low as 65 yuan. In this integrated package plan called "Happy Sharing", the Tianyi unlimited data package, which originally cost 129 yuan/month, will be given 64 yuan per month, which is equivalent to a monthly basic fee of 65 yuan. It will also be given a 200M broadband, of course, on the condition that a one-time payment of 1,560 yuan for two years is required. This is a huge discount, and in the eyes of the industry, it shows that Telecom's market offensive in the Beijing market is becoming more aggressive.

In fact, China Telecom has been aggressive in the Beijing market in recent months. At the same time, Tianyi's unlimited package also launched a two-year value-for-money version - the original price is 129 yuan/month, and 60 yuan of free calls are given every month for two years on the network, equivalent to a monthly fee of 69 yuan, and it also includes 500 minutes of nationwide calls. Compared with a month ago, the discount of this unlimited package has also increased significantly. At that time, only the first year of joining the network was given 60 yuan of free calls per month, and the second year was given 30 yuan of free calls per month. The most important thing is that both new and old users can apply.

Beijing Mobile is also aggressive. Beijing Morning Post reporters noticed that Beijing Mobile is currently vigorously promoting the 68 yuan unlimited data card. The monthly fee of this package was originally 128 yuan/month. New users can get free call charges for 24 consecutive months after recharging. They will get 60 yuan of call charges per month in the first 12 months and 30 yuan of call charges per month in the next 12 months. That is, 68 yuan per month in the first 12 months and 98 yuan per month in the next 12 months. In addition to unlimited national traffic, it also includes 500 minutes of domestic calling time and 200M optical broadband.

In addition, Beijing Unicom is vigorously promoting the Ice God Cards, both of which are unlimited nationwide data. Its newly upgraded Ice Cream Package has been reduced to 129 yuan/month, with unlimited nationwide data and 500 minutes of domestic voice calls. Among them, the popular Ice God Card is 99 yuan/month, with unlimited nationwide data and 300 minutes of calls. Currently, you can get 99 yuan by depositing 49 yuan; the Big Ice God Card is 199 yuan/month, with unlimited nationwide voice and data, and you can get 199 yuan by depositing 99 yuan. The current discount is not as good as last month.

Judging from the extent of the rate discounts alone, in this round of competition, Beijing Telecom is the most bold and aggressive, Beijing Mobile is not to be outdone, and Beijing Unicom is relatively conservative.