The number of users has not increased and the length of time has declined, and the 5G applications have been delayed.

As for why? No need to look at the official explanation. The main reasons are nothing more than a few. The first is the disappearance of the demographic dividend, which is a trend. The second is that the disconnection has reduced some "gray demand". In addition, port portability and so on have also reduced the demand for a new number

In this situation, operators can only make a fuss about the existing users in the future. It is not easy to grab them. Then tap the potential internally to upgrade, and 5G users have become the top priority.

On April 22, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the economic performance of the communications industry in the first quarter of 2021: As of the end of March, the number of 5G mobile phone terminal users connected by the three basic telecommunications companies reached 285 million, a net increase of 86.84 million from the end of the previous year, accounting for mobile phone users Of 17.8%.

Although the conditions of the three specific operators are slightly different, they all show the characteristics of accelerated 5G conversion and weak overall user growth.

On the evening of April 21, China Unicom released its first quarter performance report. The report showed that in the first quarter of 2021, China Unicom’s 5G package users reached 91.85 million, a net increase of 21.02 million.

According to news on April 21, China Mobile announced its operating data for March 2021, with a net increase of 15.593 million 5G package customers that month. As of March 31, 2021, China Mobile has a total of approximately 940 million mobile customers, of which the total number of 4G customers has reached 788 million, the total number of 5G package customers has reached 189 million, and the total number of 5G network customers has reached 92.76 million.

On April 28, China Telecom announced its March 2021 operating data. In the same month, China Telecom’s mobile subscribers increased by 3.45 million, with a total of 356.25 million mobile subscribers. In the same month, the number of 5G package subscribers increased by 7.86 million, and the 5G package subscribers totaled 111.23 million.

What's interesting here is that, as China Unicom, which has always refused to announce the "5G package users", is now the first to release the numbers, because China Unicom's 5G penetration rate is ahead of the three operators. China Mobile generously announced the indicator of the total number of 5G network customers, while the other two have yet to explain.

In addition, the increase in the number of operators' users is also mainly dependent on the Internet of Things. As of the end of March, the three basic telecommunications companies had developed 1.192 billion cellular Internet of Things terminal users, a net increase of 56.15 million over the end of the previous year.

Although the number of mobile phone users has grown weakly, the good news is that mobile phone sales have begun to increase, which means that 5G replacement has entered the growth season, which is conducive to the improvement of operators' ARPU and the development of new services and new applications.

Recently, Canalys released the latest data. The data shows that China's smartphones have grown for the first time in four years, with smartphone shipments reaching 92.4 million units, a year-on-year increase of 27%.

According to news on April 26, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently announced the "Operation of Electronic Information Manufacturing in the First Quarter of 2021". In March 2021, my country’s mobile phone output was 140 million units, an increase of 11.8% year-on-year, of which 110 million smartphones were produced. A year-on-year increase of 14.2%.

In 2021, China Radio and Television will release numbers, which will also promote a wave of mobile phone users. Just recently, the China Satellite Network Group was established, and the satellite Internet seems to be just around the corner.

Analysys released the "Mobile Internet Development Report in 2021", showing that by the end of the first quarter of 2021, the number of mobile Internet users reached 1.030 billion, an increase of 0.78% year-on-year, but a decrease of 0.19% from the previous quarter. This is the first time the number of active mobile Internet users has been compared with the previous quarter. There is a negative growth.

In the first quarter of 2021, the total number of app installations per capita of mobile netizens rose to 63, and the per capita usage time of apps per day was 5.3 hours, an increase of 0.3 hours from the previous quarter, but a decrease of 1.4 hours from the same period last year. In the first quarter of 2021, the proportion of short video industry duration has further increased, accounting for 29.6%, ranking first in the industry, and the gap with the second in instant messaging continues to increase, reaching 9.5%.

We believe that with the accumulation of 5G networks and new communication methods, the number of mobile phone users may also increase to a certain extent, but the number of mobile users and mobile Internet users, and the number of users on the Internet are all in the ceiling. It's peaking in 2020.

The new crown epidemic has stimulated China's mobile Internet to take a step forward, and it is almost equal to the reflection of the mobile Internet traffic economy. The 4G era where traffic is king is over, but the 5G era where operation is king has been slow to open the door. 2021 is destined to be a year to wait for the flowers to bloom. Whether it is the epidemic past or the 5G outbreak, we all have to wait.

【Editor's Choice】