First, self-construction and self-operation, but this goes against the relevant regulations of the MIIT and is not the forte of China Mobile. In this sternly-worded notice, China Mobile was required to immediately stop the promotion and processing of related businesses, recover and store user agreements and invoices that do not comply with regulations; at the same time, submit a written inspection report on the violations and organize an investigation into unfair competition practices across the city.
Behind the halt of low-price services, Nanjing Mobile starts anew. As a key location for China Mobile, Jiangsu Mobile has been ahead of the entire group, starting large-scale deployment of FTTx across the province in 2008, and launching three data service applications to include mobile service halls, high-end commercial buildings, and large customers with higher APRU values. Jiangsu Mobile was not satisfied with this and began to penetrate the home market, but this was not an easy path.
However, when C114 subsequently called Nanjing Mobile's customer service hotline at 025-10086, the customer service representative stated that in neighborhoods with fiber optic access conditions, Nanjing Mobile can handle fixed network broadband services, with a fee of 600 yuan per year, bandwidth of 2M, and unlimited internet access; if there is no mobile fixed network coverage or no fiber optic access in the neighborhood, you can choose the fixed network broadband service provided by Tietong, with fees the same as those of Mobile.
As the superior department of Nanjing Mobile, Jiangsu Mobile did not make a direct response to this matter. But insiders accepting C114’s connection pointed out indirectly that this is just about standardizing behavior, and fixed broadband access services will continue.
An insider familiar with the situation pointed out that the 600-yuan broadband annual subscription service launched by Nanjing Mobile does indeed have a price advantage compared to the dominant local telecommunications operator, Nanjing Mobile. However, Nanjing Mobile clearly overlooked one point: conducting business under its own name without obtaining approval from the regulatory authorities.
At the crossroads of China Mobile's fixed broadband services, Professor Zhang Shunyi of Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications pointed out in an interview with the media that under the control of state-owned capital over the telecommunications industry, the government will not allow one company to dominate and crush the other two, “Despite China Mobile's ambitious goals, it is still difficult to be number one in all areas of full-service business. The three telecommunications operators will still compete through differentiation rather than convergence; otherwise, what would be the significance of restructuring the telecommunications industry?”
Third, conduct cross-industry integration and integrate with broadcasting operators. The model where China Mobile uses the resources of the broadcasting wired network for fixed broadband access is currently being widely promoted in cities such as Yangzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou, Quanzhou, and Fuzhou.
The person also advised that Mobile invests in the core network, transforms the fixed network IP, and lays the foundation for GPON development. "Tietong builds within buildings, Mobile builds outside buildings; Mobile builds, Tietong maintains; Mobile develops customers, Tietong retains customers."
According to industry insiders, from the existing operational models, China Mobile has three options if it wants to achieve long-term development in fixed broadband access services. But the advantages and disadvantages of each model are also very obvious.
Secondly, co-operate with subsidiary China Tietong. This eliminates the trouble of licensing, and also brings a glimmer of hope to the enterprise integration in chaos. "After stripping off the railway communication dedicated network business, China Tietong obviously lacks strategic core business. With the rapid shrinkage of fixed voice services, it urgently needs to find new markets. Although facing significant financial and personnel pressures, Tietong is commendable in network maintenance and retail business."
Telecom expert Hou Ziqiang highly appreciates this model. He believes that China Mobile and the broadcasting system are natural allies, both having asset businesses greatly beneficial to each other. "If the broadcasting system and China Mobile form an alliance, they will surely create a new 'third pole' in the triple-play fusion." But with the comprehensive deployment of the NGB network of the broadcasting system and the expansion of telecom-grade services including voice, isn't China Mobile's wishful thinking a bit too much?
Nanjing Mobile's self-owned broadband business is halted
iSuppli China Telecom Industry Analyst Zhao Guozhang pointed out that in the next 2-3 years, the competitive landscape in the fixed network sector should not change too much. After all, China Telecom and China Unicom have obvious advantages, let alone that China Mobile's investment focus will still be on 3G and future LTE evolving network equipment.
In the fixed broadband access market, the latecomer China Mobile has launched fierce attacks on the dominant local telecommunications operators in some developed areas in the south. Behind the seemingly "suicidal" price marketing, it is exploring new possibilities due to the saturation of the personal mobile communications market, craving for the government-enterprise customer market and small and medium-sized family business customer market, and actively responding to the bundled marketing of Unicom and Telecom.
According to the relevant provisions of the Notice issued by the MIIT before regarding the Implementation of Relevant Documents on Standardizing the Order of the Telecommunications Market (MIIT Electric Management [2009] No. 686) and other local documents as well as Jiangsu Mobile [2010] No. 94 document, "China Mobile should have clear divisions in broadband access services. It is inappropriate for Nanjing Mobile to start anew." A related person from China Tietong told C114 during a connection, "Reasonable division between mobile and fixed networks is the consensus of the decision-making level of the China Mobile Group, and also the tone of national industry regulation."
But restricted by policy, China Mobile is not encouraged to develop fixed broadband access services. At the beginning of last year, after the reorganization of the telecommunications operation industry, fixed broadband access became one of the main businesses of China Tietong, which was incorporated as a wholly-owned subsidiary into the Mobile Group. Despite having infiltrated the industry for many years, China Tietong still cannot independently cope with the investment pressure brought by network upgrades and fierce price wars. The direction of China Mobile's fixed broadband strategy has become a focal point of attention within the industry.
C114 News, March 16th morning message (Zhou Guijun): More than a year has passed since the issuance of the 3G license. After the initial noise and speculation, the three telecommunications operators in the full-service era have all entered a full-effort development phase. While initiating a "total war," they also simultaneously challenged each other's weak points.
A source told C114 that China Mobile Nanjing Branch (hereinafter referred to as "Nanjing Mobile") violated the relevant regulations of the MIIT and the Jiangsu Provincial Communications Administration Bureau by promoting and developing wired broadband services in the Nanjing area. The bureau recently issued a "Notice Ordering Rectification Prohibiting Nanjing Mobile from Developing Wired Broadband Services."
C114 then called the Jiangsu provincial administration bureau but did not receive a definitive response. A related person from the bureau said: "Only issued documents related to the spirit of the nationwide video conference for implementing Document No. 686 of the MIIT to telecommunications operators within Jiangsu Province."