China’s telecoms operators launch 5G tariff plans as network roll-outs push ahead despite trade war
- Monthly 5G service plans in China start at a minimum of about US$18
- The country is projected to have 110 million 5G users by next year, when more affordable 5G smartphones become available
China’s three major telecommunications carriers have introduced their monthly 5G data plans, as the world’s largest smartphone and internet market barrels ahead with its shift from 4G to the next-generation mobile technology amid trade tensions with the United States.
China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom are launching commercial 5G services on November 1 with largely similar monthly tariff plans. These start at a minimum of 128 yuan (US$18.13) a month for 30 gigabytes of data usage and up to 599 yuan for 300 GBs, which represent pricing that is close to existing 4G monthly plans.
The new 5G plans are now cheaper than 4G based on price per GB for low-end packages, which is similar to the strategy initiated in South Korea’s 5G services launch earlier this year, according to Edison Lee, an equity analyst at Jefferies, in a report on Wednesday.
“That may encourage 4G subscribers who have an ARPU (monthly average revenue per user) of over 120 yuan to migrate to 5G,” Lee said.
Initial commercial 5G mobile services have been rolled out in South Korea, the US, Australia, the UK, Switzerland, Spain and Monaco. Yet the scale of China’s market is likely to dwarf the combined size of those economies, negating any first-mover advantage.
