The era of low mobile Internet tariffs in China has ended, and 78.2 yuan has become the new normal
In 2023, China Mobile handed over a brilliant annual report card. According to the financial report, by the end of 2023, the number of China Mobile's 5G network customers has reached 464.81 million, the per capita consumption expenditure (ARPU) has risen to 78.2 yuan, and the mobile phone Internet DOU has also reached 25GB. Behind this series of data is a major adjustment of China Mobile's tariff strategy. In order to increase the average monthly consumption of users, China Mobile took the lead in canceling low-cost packages such as 8 yuan and 18 yuan, and quietly increased the price of some packages. At present, the minimum package of China Mobile has reached 28 yuan, and old users who want to change the package can only choose a higher-priced package and can no longer enjoy low-cost tariffs. Although this price increase strategy has caused dissatisfaction among users, it has driven the growth of China Mobile's overall revenue. In 2023, China Mobile's annual operating revenue reached RMB1,009.3 billion, up 7.7% year-on-year, and its main business revenue also reached RMB863.5 billion, up 6.3% year-on-year, higher than the industry average.
China Mobile's move to cancel low-cost packages heralds the end of the era of low-cost Internet tariffs in China. With the impact of factors such as speed increase and fee reduction, intensified pipelining, and immature profitability of new services, the overall profitability of the three major operators is facing downward pressure. In order to maintain revenue growth, price increases have become a means that operators have to take. Industry analysts believe that China Unicom and China Telecom may also follow China Mobile's lead and carry out similar price increase strategies and salary reforms. This means that the price of mobile Internet tariffs in China may continue to rise in the future, and users will face higher mobile Internet costs.
For ordinary users, the operator's practice of canceling low-priced packages and pushing up tariffs is undoubtedly bad news. Many users said that because mobile phone numbers are bound to many services, even if the price of mobile packages increases, they are too lazy to change their numbers, and they have to pay more money every month to maintain their numbers. This reflects the operator's strategy of taking advantage of the high cost of changing the number of old users and driving up the average monthly consumption of users by canceling low-cost packages. Users are unhappy about this, but they can't do anything about it. With the follow-up of other operators, the cost of mobile Internet access will only get higher and higher for users in the future.
From the perspective of operators, canceling low-priced packages and pushing up the average monthly consumption of users is an inevitable choice to cope with industry challenges and maintain revenue growth. In recent years, the policy of increasing speed and reducing fees has put great pressure on the profitability of operators. At the same time, the trend of pipelining has intensified, and the revenue of operators' traditional voice and SMS services has been declining. Emerging businesses such as 5G, Internet of Things, and cloud computing have broad prospects, but their profit models are not yet mature, and it is difficult to make up for the decline in traditional business revenue in the short term. In this case, it has become a helpless move for operators to maintain revenue growth by raising prices.
While operators' price increase strategies can improve profitability in the short term, they can be counterproductive in the long run. As the price of mobile Internet tariffs continues to rise, the dissatisfaction of users will also increase. Some price-sensitive users may choose to change numbers or port networks, resulting in the loss of carrier users. At the same time, high tariff prices may also inhibit the popularization and development of mobile Internet, affecting the promotion of emerging services such as 5G and the Internet of Things. When formulating tariff strategies, operators should consider both short-term profitability and long-term development, and pay attention to user experience and market competitiveness while increasing the average monthly consumption of users.
China Mobile took the lead in canceling low-cost packages, pushing the average monthly consumption of users to 78.2 yuan, marking the end of the era of low prices for China's mobile Internet tariffs. Faced with challenges such as speed increase and fee reduction, intensified pipelining, and immature profitability of new services, the three major operators had to increase prices to maintain revenue growth. Although this price increase strategy can improve profitability in the short term, it has also caused widespread dissatisfaction among users and may affect the long-term development of the mobile Internet. In the future, as other operators follow suit, the price of mobile Internet tariffs may continue to rise, and users will face higher mobile Internet costs. When formulating tariff strategies, operators should not only consider short-term profits, but also take into account user experience and market competitiveness, and pay attention to the sustainable development of mobile Internet while increasing the average monthly consumption of users. Only by ensuring the interests of users can operators achieve long-term and stable growth.