China Mobile’s (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL) new wi-fi initiative shows it is finally admitting it needs a good high-speed wireless Internet alternate to its problematic 3G network. According to Chinese media, the company is trumpeting a new initiative that will see it boost its fledgling wi-fi network to 1 million hot spots in the next three years. (Chinese report) While I like that China Mobile is finally admitting it needs a better product to be competitive in high-speed wireless Internet, this latest initiative looks like a good way to spend lots of money with very little hope for serious rewards. I’ve seen too many large-scale wi-fi initiatives with similar goals that have simply failed to find an audience. The problem is, people either want their mobile Internet in individual shops, like a Starbucks or fast food restaurant, or they want a network they can access anywhere. No one seems interested in an in-between product, which is what China Mobile wants to create.
Bottom line: China Mobile’s new wi-fi expansion is good in concept, but will end up a dud just like its 3G network.
中国移动董事长王建宙表示计划三年内在全国增建WiFi热点至100万个，实际上是承认了自己的3G网络存在不足，因而需要用大规模高速WiFi网络来加以弥补。尽管我赞赏中国移动勇于承认不足，但这个”百万WiFi热点”计划却将事倍功半。我见过太多类似的大规模WiFi网络计划，最终都因无人问津而惨遭失败。问 题在於，人们要麽需要在固定公共场所接入无线互联网，比如星巴克咖啡馆，要麽需要在行动中随时随地接入无线网；而对介於两者之间的产品则兴趣寥。而中国移 动计划之中的恰恰似乎是这麽个产品。
一句话：中移动的”百万WiFi热点”计划看似不错的概念，但在实践中将成为与它的3G网络一样的败笔。
Related postings 有关文章:
◙ China Mobile Pushes Ahead With 4G Trial, Challenges Regulator 中国移动急於进军4G
◙ 2011: Year of the Unicom 2011：联通的好运年
◙ 4G Trial Expansion Looms, But Real Networks Still Years Off
are very big news individually. (
But before anyone gets too excited, let’s think about this: People in the West generally avoid Chinese cars for safety and reliability issues, despite their cheap price tags. Big bus operators will be even more sensitive on such issues, especially safety, due to costly liability when accidents occur. In light of all that, I would say it could be quite a while before Chinese bus makers drive into the West.
There’s some mildly interesting news coming from telecoms equipment giant Huawei, which Chinese media say is setting up an independent board of directors for its Australian business to be peopled mostly by local Australians. (
that’s $1 million that shareholders will have to swallow, which will mean a small hit to the bottom line in the current quarter. But there’s a more interesting picture here for the future, namely that this company is well positioned to reap big potential benefits when the Japanese reconstruction gets underway in earnest, which is likely to happen in the second half of the year.
Most importantly, the company needs to go back to basics and re-learn how to make cars the people want, rather than spending its energy telling everyone how great it is and how its largely untested green products are going to revolutionize the market. It made an interesting move last week in the auto financing arena (
It seems that LDK Solar (NYSE: LDK), one of the weaker players in China’s solar industry, is telling investors a new plant it’s just opened in Anhui province will help it significantly reduce costs by boosting its capacity (
overcome the market dominance of Apple’s original iPad, as well as competition from other products including Lenovo’s (HKEx: 992) new LePad (
China-based mapping services had to register with the government earlier this week or risk breaking the law after July 1. There’s a lot more in the article for those who want to look, but to me this looks like China pushing Google one step closer to the exit door by putting up rules the US search giant doesn’t want to follow. None of this would probably even matter if it weren’t for the huge popularity of Google’s Android operating system for cellphones in China, which appeals to local consumers because it’s free and thus drives down the cost of handsets. If this mapping issue blows up into another major clash, which it might, then Android could easily be the next to get kicked out of China, dealing a huge blow to the OS and thus to Google.
first Web portals more than a decade ago. Sina has shown a recent knack for successfully getting into new areas such as real estate and blogging, and as China’s leading portal its also one of the most visited Web sites, guaranteeing it plenty of traffic. Given its strong record lately, I would bet on them to make an acquisition in the search space in the near future and pose the first serious challenge in years to industry heavyweight Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU).
