Basic market background description
FreeWap really began to become popular in the China region starting from Q3 of 2003, officially taking off in 2004. FreeWap companies started receiving investments mid-2004 or during Q3/Q4. In the competitive landscape, companies such as 3G, WAP World CEO, MOABC, LXYES, BANG, MINFO, CGOGO, UUCUN, YICHA, and others began to secure funding one after another. In 2005, even more venture capitalists (VCs) increased their investments in these FreeWap ventures. By 2006, the SP (Service Provider) industry started being increasingly regulated and strictly controlled by mobile operators. Major web portals or SP giants like KONG (Airnet), SINA (Wireless), TOM (Wireless), Tencent (QQ Wireless), SOHU (Wireless), etc., began launching their own FreeWap services, seeking new market survival points and business opportunities.
Additionally, in early 2006, specialized companies focusing on Mobile Internet Advertising sales were established, such as Focus Media Wireless (Rizhao Wireless Company), MADHOUSE (Yidong), MMCLICK (MeiMei), ADWAYS (Aitong), WAPS (Wanpu Century), Mobile Fitop (a mobile agency established in 2004), YIZONE (Yizhong), WIMAG (Wireless Glory). The advertising market started generating real revenue concepts from the second half of 2006; prior to that, efforts were focused on building statistical management systems and other procedural content. In the current advertising agency system, Focus Media and MADHOUSE lead in terms of revenue, with high sales reaching millions per month, while the lowest still exceed 500,000 yuan, making them excellent representatives of brand advertising. On the other hand, MMCLICK and WAPS operate through alliances for ad placements, with revenues ranging between 200,000 to 600,000 yuan. MMCLICK, due to its rich resource control, has seen its sales grow from 100,000 yuan/month in the second half of 2006 to an average monthly income of around 500,000 yuan now, becoming a leading website in the alliance advertising model. As for others in the FreeWap industry, their performance and recognition are relatively limited, with sales generally maintained at around 100,000 yuan without any particularly outstanding achievements.