2G network withdrawal encounters new resistance, and most of the existing IoT is based on 2G network

Currently, operators are actively migrating 2G users to 3G/4G networks, hoping to achieve the goal of withdrawing 2G from the network as soon as possible. However, news recently revealed that this plan is facing new resistance, that is, most of the current IoT connections are based on 2G networks.

In the past few years, the Internet of Things has gradually emerged, and operators have also actively promoted it, hoping to seize the opportunity before the Internet of Things explodes. Among the three major operators, China Mobile is the most active in promoting the development of the Internet of Things, and it also accounts for the vast majority of China's Internet of Things connections.

According to data released by China Mobile in November 2017, its number of IoT connections exceeded 320 million; China Unicom had 70 million IoT connections by the end of 2017; and China Telecom had 27.98 million IoT connections by the first half of 2017. It can be seen that China Mobile's number of IoT users exceeds that of the other two operators.

[[225878]]

From the above data, it can be seen that the number of IoT connections in China is expected to exceed 400 million by the end of 2017, which is equivalent to about 30% of the number of mobile users of China's three major operators. The IoT is showing a rapid development momentum.

However, the current IoT connection is still mainly based on 2G networks, especially China Mobile, which is related to network coverage and cost. In terms of network coverage, China Mobile's 3G network coverage is poor, and the 4G network is built on the 1.8GHz and 2.3GHz frequency bands, while the 2G network is built on the 900MHz and 1.8GHz frequency bands. Since the 2G network has a lower frequency band, its coverage is much better than the higher frequency band 4G, especially in the corners of the city, its 2G network coverage is much better than 4G.

For the Internet of Things, network coverage is needed everywhere. China Mobile seems to have recognized this problem. In 2017, the number of its 2G base stations did not decrease. In fact, the number of its 2G base stations increased by 30,000 when the number of 2G users decreased rapidly. This seems to provide better network coverage for the Internet of Things services.

Another issue is cost. The current 4G IoT chip cost is relatively high. It is understood that the price of a 2G module is only a fraction of that of a 4G module. As for IoT services, some current IoT services do not require high-speed data networks, such as POS machines and shared bicycles. In this case, in order to control costs, most of these IoT services also use 2G network services.

Of course, it is different for China Telecom and China Unicom. The 4G they operate is LTE-FDD technology. Previous tests have shown that the coverage radius of LTE-FDD base stations is not much different from that of 2G in the same frequency band. China Telecom is eager to withdraw the 2G CDMA network to reduce operating costs, while China Unicom's 2G network has poor coverage. They have respectively obtained licenses to use the low-frequency 800MHz and 900MHz for the construction of LTE-FDD. Of course, they are motivated to withdraw the 2G network as soon as possible to use the low-frequency bands for the construction of LTE-FDD or 5G.

Under such circumstances, after China's three major operators actively promote 2G mobile users to switch to 3G/4G networks, they will also face the need to migrate these IoT services to 3G/4G networks as soon as possible so that they can withdraw the 2G network as soon as possible. China Telecom and China Unicom are expected to be the operators to withdraw the 2G network the fastest due to the small number of IoT connections and other factors, while China Mobile will be slower.