China News Client, Beijing, May 12th (Reporter Wu Tao) China Mobile's 5G messaging APP will be delisted one day after it is launched. This brief meeting uncovered the tip of the iceberg of 5G news, and many questions from netizens also came up: Isn't it good to download like SMS? Can we beat WeChat?
Data map: 5G news white paper. Image source: China Mobile
5G messaging APP is not for customers
Netizens who have downloaded the 5G news app said that the 5G news app stated that it is a communication and service software built by China Mobile based on the international RCS standard. It supports sending rich messages such as text, pictures, audio and video, and geographic location; it can also be used with merchants Chatbot to interact.
"Say it is integrated in the text message, and now it needs an independent APP?" On the 11th, China Mobile said in response to the concerns of netizens that it was not a commercial product released for customers.
"Because some terminals have not yet supported the 5G messaging function, China Mobile has developed a 5G messaging app, which allows developers to experience the real-time message interaction service after completing the Chatbot (intelligent chat robot) application development, attracting developers to actively participate in the cooperation of 5G messaging. Ecological construction. "China Mobile explained.
The operator's "5G message" can be traced back to April 8. On the day, the "5G message white paper" jointly released by the three major operators showed that the 5G message service is a new upgrade of the terminal's native basic short message service. In the future, users will replace 5G mobile phones. Or you can upgrade your existing 4G / 5G mobile phone to use 5G messaging service conveniently.
In fact, on June 26, 2019, during the 2019 Shanghai World Mobile Communications Conference, China Mobile held the establishment of the 5G News Innovation Open Lab and the RCS product launch conference, releasing a new 5G product-RCS (Converged Communications) Business Rich media news.
At that time, China Mobile introduced that RCS commercial rich media messages use native SMS as the entrance, supporting rich media message forms such as graphics, audio and video, and robot interaction. Users can realize one-stop business experiences such as search, interaction, and payment in the message window. It has the advantages of multiple coverage terminals, high message delivery rate, mobile phone number is the user ID, and real-name authentication of the message port. This is basically the same as the current 5G news introduction.
Netizens are hot on 5G news. Weibo screenshot
Can we beat WeChat?
Another topic that 5G news has triggered a lot of people to discuss is, "Whether it can match or even replace social hegemon WeChat in the future". Some netizens said that the combination of the three major operators is possible. There are also netizens who make suggestions, "It may be possible to use APP to free 5G data charges."
The market has also given considerable expectations. After the release of 5G news, Zheshang Securities once issued a research report that 5G news realized the leap in operator messaging services. Through the comprehensive coverage foundation of operators ’1.6 billion message portals, as well as strong precision marketing capabilities and direct contact capabilities, it is expected It generates huge commercial value. It is predicted that the market size of domestic industry customers from 2022 to 2025 will be 21.8 billion to 58 billion yuan, and the market space is considerable.
However, there are also views that 5G news is difficult to surpass WeChat. On the 11th, a survey launched on the Weibo platform showed that over 70% of netizens who voted believe that it is difficult for 5G messaging apps to beat WeChat because WeChat is too deeply tied to users.
Some netizens said that Fetion had no competitors and that SMS was very expensive. It was still in a situation where all kinds of circumstances were favorable in the absence of large-scale popularization of smartphones. Now it is even more difficult.
Data map: China Mobile releases RCS commercial rich media news, image source: China Mobile for map
The rival of 5G news is Apple
In addition to WeChat, 5G news also faces a rival, that is Apple.
Independent telecommunications analyst Fu Liang said that it is difficult for Apple iOS to open this information service function to the outside world in a short time, especially for applications with low-level security requirements. See how long it took security software and number assistants to log in to the iOS system?
For example, the low-level application of Sogou input method was put on the Apple App Store and it took a lot of effort. Apple iOS 8 only supports the third-party input method, which is the era of iPhone 6. Moreover, Apple also has a similar product iMessage 5G news. Therefore, some netizens said, "It is not difficult to understand that 5G news will be removed from Apple one day after it is launched."
On the 11th, China Mobile responded to the delisting of the 5G news app, but said that due to the joint release of the 5G news white paper by the three operators in the early stage, it has aroused high public opinion concerns. In order to protect the name of "5G news" from malicious preemption, China Mobile has recently applied The market goes live. Due to some technical problems, the APP is temporarily offline and will be re-launched later.
According to foreign media reports, Apple is undergoing a major transformation of iMessage. Recently, it submitted a new patent document for the iMessage application program interface to the US Patent and Trademark Office, and the application file data has reached 980 pages. This shows that Apple will not only give up iMessage, but will also increase support.
Profit model and ecological construction are also tests
In addition to iMessage, analysts generally believe that the success of 5G news also faces the test of ecological construction and profit model. First of all, the profit model of 5G messages is unclear. WeChat and iMessage are free. SMS is currently charged. Will 5G messages replace SMS for free?
According to the latest data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the volume of mobile short-message services has grown rapidly, and the year-on-year decline in revenue has narrowed. In the first quarter, the mobile messaging business revenue was 9 billion yuan. Can the three major operators abandon this part of income?
In addition, in terms of ecological construction, the Global Association for Mobile Communications System GSMA has planned to incorporate 5G news into the mandatory functions of 5G terminals. In the future, users can easily use 5G messaging services by replacing 5G mobile phones or upgrading existing 4G / 5G mobile phones. Terminal manufacturers such as Huawei, ZTE, and Xiaomi also expressed full support for 5G news.
So in a broad sense, most mobile users in the future will be 5G messaging users. But no matter what, 5G messages still have to be used by users to be successful. How to strengthen the stickiness of 5G messages users is also a major problem facing operators. (Finish)