The user data released by China Unicom in August showed that its mobile subscribers had a net loss of 886,000, and the cumulative number of mobile billing users reached 309 million. Compared with the loss of about 9 million users at the end of last year, it was the bottom of the three major operators.
Since entering the 4G era, China Telecom has achieved rapid development. Its number of mobile users has grown rapidly, and the number of net mobile users has surpassed China Mobile. As China Telecom’s mobile users soared, China Telecom’s mobile users in July 2019 This is the first time that China Telecom has surpassed China Unicom.
In the face of China Telecom’s rapid offensive, China Unicom seems to have an indifferent attitude. Instead of accelerating its mobile subscriber numbers, it has begun to lose. In July 2019, China Unicom had 324.5 million mobile users. By the end of the year, the number of mobile users had dropped to 318 million. Since 2020, it has continued to maintain a net loss of users.
There are many reasons for China Unicom's net loss of mobile users. First of all, China Unicom’s network coverage is the worst among the three major operators. Its 2G, 3G, and 4G networks do not have any comprehensive coverage of the whole country, which has caused it to be criticized for poor signal.
Another reason for the net loss of China Unicom's users since 2019 is that it has aggressively promoted the withdrawal of 2G networks. Originally, the 2G network used the 900MHz frequency band. Even if it did not build base stations in the countryside, it also relied on low frequency in the city. The 2G network has obtained good network coverage and the price is lower, so it still attracts some users. However, after it promotes the withdrawal of the 2G network, these 2G users are quickly lost.
China Unicom, which has radically promoted the withdrawal of 2G networks, has the highest proportion of 2G users. Data in July 2019 showed that China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom accounted for 21%, 17.5%, and 25.2% of 2G users, respectively. Coming to China Unicom is undoubtedly forcing these 2G users to transfer to China Mobile, which intensified the loss of its own users.
China Mobile currently has the strongest strength. It has the most mobile users, 4G users, and fixed-line broadband users. China Telecom ranks second, while China Unicom ranks last in these three indicators. China Unicom lacks advantageous services. It seems that they are unable to compete with the other two operators and are gradually marginalized.
China Unicom’s mobile business and fixed-line broadband business lack competitive advantages, which has caused its revenue and net profit to be lower than the other two operators. At present, the three major operators are actively constructing 5G networks, which will cost more Huge investment, while China Unicom will invest in the construction of 4G network, it seems that it is once again falling into the dilemma of dual-network mutual fighting in the 2G era.