In recent years, using broadband bundling to tie down users has become the "trump card" for established broadband operators like telecom companies in certain areas, leading to no small number of complaints. On February 6th, Ms. Li from Yue Lai Road in Zhongshan encountered such an annoying situation: she originally wanted to install broadband for internet access, but the telecom service hall staff told her that to install broadband, she had to buy a mobile phone first; otherwise, it wouldn't be installed. Subsequently, when the reporter visited the service hall, it was similarly discovered that purchasing a bundled mobile phone with new broadband installation could immediately process related services; otherwise, they couldn’t be processed or would need company approval, taking at least one to two weeks.
In January 2011, the Shanghai Communications Administration released the "Notice on Strengthening the Operation Behavior of Broadband User Premises Networks" which set clear time limits for bundling practices. The notice emphasized that broadband internet charges cannot exceed one year. For special broadband tariff packages where prepaid fees exceed one year, they must be filed with the Shanghai Communications Administration and approved before implementation, but broadband package charges cannot exceed two years.
Reporters found during visits around the Zhongshan Telecom Street area that some of the bundled phones sold by major operators were older models. Phones such as the Samsung (Weibo) I509 and Coolpad 5860, among others bundled with Zhongshan Telecom, were not found in multiple mobile phone sales stores. Aroma, who has been engaged in mobile phone sales for many years, told reporters that the phones bundled in telecom service halls are generally rarely seen in the market, with some being outdated or obsolete old models. If consumers were to purchase them directly, they definitely wouldn't agree. The main attraction is through bundled methods such as giving free airtime or data.
Feng Moxi, a lawyer from Guangdong Yashang Law Firm, said in an interview with reporters that the Zhongshan Yue Lai Nan Telecom Service Hall forcing consumers to buy phones with new broadband installations, or deliberately raising the threshold for installing broadband, is actually suspected of bundled sales and forced consumption, which is inappropriate and illegal. According to the Consumer Rights Protection Law, consumers have the right to independently choose operators providing goods or services, independently choose types of goods or ways of service, and independently decide whether to buy any commodity or accept any service.
It is reported that in the first three quarters of 2011, the retail volume of the operator market reached about 61 million units, with a year-on-year increase of 34%. The proportion of bundled sales in the operator market increased from 30% in the first quarter of 2010 to 38% in the third quarter of 2011, driving the overall market growth. Industry experts believe that with the upgrade of competition among operators, the share of the bundled market will continue to rise. Compared with other developed markets in Asia or Europe, China's bundled sales of operators still have great room for growth. As the Chinese operator market transitions from "voice competition" to "content competition" and from traditional competition to "ecosystem competition", it is expected that the competition and user grabbing among the three major operators will further intensify.
On February 6, 2012, the Liaoning Communications Administration proposed requirements to the three basic telecommunications operating enterprises within the province, standardizing the broadband market from three aspects: tariffs, sales, and services. In terms of sales, the new policy emphasizes that telecom enterprises must not forcibly bundle fixed-line telephone or mobile telephone services when promoting internet broadband services. They should separately provide independent tariff plans for broadband, fixed-line telephone, and mobile telephone services for users to choose and use.
When the reporter repeatedly emphasized that he did not want to buy a phone, the staff finally said impatiently that an application could be made to the company manager, but the entire process would take one to two weeks. When the reporter indicated that he would complain and see the manager of the service hall, the staff quickly changed their tone, saying that since there were enough people today, it could be processed immediately. Lin Manager, a relevant person in charge of China Telecom Zhongshan Urban Area Company, told reporters that due to the heavy targets this year, the tasks assigned to each staff member were also heavy, resulting in the relevant staff being overly eager for quick results and adopting strong-arm sales tactics. Currently, the company has already taken action and made relevant regulations regarding this matter.
The growth in the bundled market exceeds the overall market growth, becoming one of the main drivers of overall mobile phone market growth.
Mr. Yang, an industry insider, analyzed that due to insufficient supervision in the telecommunications market, operators act arbitrarily relying on their monopoly positions. Moreover, with the current telecommunications market nearing saturation, operators find it difficult to achieve win-win competition, leading them to only snatch customers from each other. Besides directly counter-digging customers and channels, they also rely on absolute advantages in certain businesses to exclude competitors through bundled sales. Furthermore, compared to other methods, bundled sales are more dominant, helping operators gain more revenue and business volume, gradually becoming the main sales method.
On February 8th, the reporter went to the Yue Lai Nan Telecom Service Hall in Zhongshan City. Just upon entering, he heard Aunt Zhang complaining: previously, installing new broadband only required bringing an ID card and paying a 200 yuan installation fee, but now it has become so troublesome that you must buy a telecom phone. They say these packages are very cost-effective, but many things are useless to me. At a counter displaying multiple 3G phones, the reporter saw that the average price of the bundled phones ranged from 999 yuan to 4000 yuan. The service hall staff enthusiastically introduced the products and stated that as long as you bought a phone, you could immediately activate the broadband. When the reporter expressed that he only wanted to install broadband without buying a phone, the staff said that this had been impossible since the end of last year, and buying a phone was mandatory.
On February 15th, the reporter again visited the Yue Lai Nan Telecom Service Hall, posing as a consumer to handle broadband services. The staff receiving the reporter said that not buying a phone was also possible, but it depended on whether the company currently had resources. When the reporter questioned what "resources" meant, the staff explained that it mainly involved checking if the place you wanted to arrange had lines available and if the personnel responsible for wiring were free. This could be checked by making a few phone calls, the staff said.
● Lessons from Others:
To install family broadband, you must buy a phone.
"Nowadays, mobile phones have more and more functions, and all major operators bundle various related business packages into phones. The purpose is to regularly introduce some new technologies or create a few new concepts to 'grab attention,' such as buying a phone with broadband installation to get mobile internet data, airtime, or network HD TV, thereby increasing the threshold for consumers to buy. However, many packages are 'flashy but empty,'" said Miss Liu, a citizen. She added that she works in administration and is very busy every day, leaving no leisure time for mobile internet, so every month money is deducted, but she doesn't use it.
Lin Manager, a relevant person in charge of China Telecom Zhongshan Urban Area Company, said that due to incomplete training of the service hall staff and the heavy targets this year, the relevant staff became overly eager for quick results and adopted strong-arm sales tactics in the product promotion process.
Forced consumption is inappropriate and illegal.
Some bundled phones are obsolete models.
Subsequently, the reporter visited the service halls of various major operators in the urban area of Zhongshan. Currently, all major operators adopt bundled mobile phone marketing strategies to compete for customers. "Buying a phone gives you分期airtime, but this phone can only use our SIM card," said a staff member at a telecom service hall in East District of Zhongshan. The company launched a "zero-yuan phone discount" offer. For example, the Lenovo TD88T phone, customers just need to pay 699 yuan and receive a total airtime of 699 yuan, returned monthly over 12 months starting the next month after purchase. However, customers must commit to binding the purchased phone with a local Zhongshan mobile number for three months and have at least three days of call activity each month to receive the second installment of gifted airtime. Regarding the mentioned bundled sales situation, the staff directly said that buying a phone gives airtime, recharging gives airtime but requires using certain functions, which are common practices in the competitive environment of operators. For example, buying a 100-yuan mobile card, if its value is given all at once, the price might be 100 yuan. If recharging 200 yuan gives 100 yuan back in installments of 10 yuan per month, then it helps develop and lock in customers. Similarly, buying a 1000-yuan phone gives 300 yuan airtime, but only 20 yuan per month, meaning the customer must use it for over a year.