In July 2004, China Unicom launched the "World Wind" GSM/CDMA dual-mode mobile phone. Initially, this dual-mode phone was not well-received; some research companies even boldly predicted that "GSM/CDMA dual-mode phones would fade out of the market within 18 months." However, reality proved otherwise. After more than two years of development, World Wind has grown into a premium brand for China Unicom and become an effective tool for attracting high-end users. By February 2007, the sales volume of Unicom's dual-mode phones exceeded one million units, with sales revenue surpassing 3 billion yuan. Through Norson's tracking research and analysis, Kong Linyu, the market director of Norson Telecommunications Consulting, believes that the main reason for the popularity of dual-mode phones is that they meet the needs of a significant portion of users who have two or even multiple numbers. From a global perspective and considering the development status of China's mobile market, since the number of GSM users far exceeds that of CDMA users, there is great potential in developing GSM dual-SIM standby phones.
**NTT DoCoMo: The Pressure of Changing Numbers Spurs Dual SIM Standby Phones**
On April 23, 2007, Japan's largest mobile communications operator, NTT DoCoMo, unveiled its spring lineup of new models, the 904i series. The most notable feature of these phones is their support for dual-number functionality on a single device. When using the 904i, users can set up two different modes, each with its own number and SMS address. When using one number, incoming calls to the other number can be saved as voice mail. All five models of the 904i series released this time are FOMA phones, supporting 3G networks and high-speed data download services.
NTT DoCoMo’s focus on dual SIM standby phones this time is mainly to respond to fierce competition from operators like KDDI. On October 24, 2006, Japan fully implemented the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) policy allowing consumers to retain their numbers while switching operators. This stimulated users' enthusiasm for changing phones, leading to a significant increase in mobile phone sales. The market shares of operators began to change. NTT DoCoMo had always owned more than half of Japan's mobile user share, but after the implementation of MNP, NTT DoCoMo fell behind in the competition for users switching operators. Japan's second-largest mobile phone operator, KDDI, saw a substantial increase in net new users. In November alone, KDDI added 324,900 new users, accounting for 82% of the national net increase in users, which was six times the number of new users added by the other two operators (NTT DoCoMo and SoftBank Mobile). Analysts at Norson believe that the primary purpose of NTT DoCoMo launching the 904ix series is to reverse the unfavorable competitive situation through dual SIM standby phones.
To coincide with the launch of the 904i, NTT DoCoMo provided corresponding communication services. Users who already own one number and apply for the dual-number service only need to pay an additional 945 yen (approximately 60 RMB) per month. At the same time, unlimited music download services were added to the tariff package. NTT DoCoMo hopes to enhance users' enthusiasm for switching to dual SIM standby phones through tariff design, a strategy worth learning from by Chinese operators.
**China Mobile: Dual SIM Standby Phones Soon to Debut**
The success of China Unicom's "World Wind" dual-mode strategy, especially after Unicom announced in 2007 that promoting the World Wind dual-mode dual-standby phone as a key strategy and aiming to develop 3 million new users, spurred China Mobile. Although, in terms of user numbers, the short-term increase in World Wind users may not pose a significant threat to Mobile, the erosion of mid-to-high-end users by Unicom prompted China Mobile to prepare proactively. The customization and sale of dual-number phones have been included in China Mobile's plans, expected to be widely promoted in the middle of 2007.
Domestic and international mobile phone manufacturers have begun product preparations, with domestic leaders such as Lenovo taking the lead, and YuLong Coolpad, experienced in GSM/CDMA dual-mode phones, also launching relevant products.
Kong Linyu, the market director of Norson Telecommunications Consulting, believes that as a niche market, the overall scale of the GSM dual SIM standby phone market is limited, but its potential is enormous. In the initial phase of product positioning, it mainly targets mid-to-high-end users, offering significant profit margins. For Chinese and foreign manufacturers already engaged in fierce competition in the Chinese mobile phone market, suffering from declining profit margins, the GSM dual SIM standby phone market remains a gold mine waiting to be developed.
**Survey: Strong User Demand, Huge Market Potential**
In 2006, Norson conducted a large-scale survey on the usage habits of China Mobile users. Through analysis, Norson found that using multiple numbers is a common phenomenon among mobile phone users, and there is strong demand for GSM dual SIM standby phones.
Based on the above analysis, Norson predicts that China's GSM dual SIM standby phone market will soon emerge and grow rapidly, becoming a new competitive hotspot for operators and mobile phone manufacturers.