Are Chinese mobile phones sweeping Japan's virtual operator market?

Cheap mobile phones from virtual operators are also on the rise in Japan. In early September, AEON launched its third cheap smartphone, the ALCATEL ONETOUCH. Although it is hard to imagine from the brand name, it is actually a French brand acquired by the Chinese home appliance giant TCL Group 10 years ago.

In the Japanese mobile phone market, low-cost smartphones launched by virtual operators, which reduce communication charges by renting lines from large communication companies, have attracted attention recently. Japanese home appliance chain stores and Internet access companies have entered this field one after another.

Observing the smartphone terminals launched by Japanese virtual operators, we can find that Chinese companies have obvious advantages. Not only ALCATEL ONETOUCH, but also many home appliance chain stores have Huawei products everywhere. In addition, Sony's So-net also sells ZTE terminals.

"Chinese companies are very motivated," said an Aeon official. In the tender for the third model of mobile phone launched by Aeon, only venture companies from Japan participated, and large companies were absent. On the other hand, Chinese companies used the scale advantage brought by the huge domestic market as a weapon to win orders by offering low prices.

Previously, the Japanese mobile phone market has been ruled by telecommunications operators represented by NTT DoCoMo. However, in order to promote competition among telecommunications companies, it has become a trend to require telecommunications companies to remove SIM locks to win customers. Chinese companies see this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and are striving to take risks to enter the Japanese market. Beijing Xiaomi Technology, known as the Chinese version of Apple, is also rumored to be entering Japan.

"Large Japanese companies are slow to act," said an executive of a Japanese home appliance chain. Japanese companies may be cautious about entering the unlocked terminal market due to the reaction of telecommunications giants, and this market may be occupied by Chinese companies. Whether this market can flourish remains unknown, but from the perspective of consumers, if there is no spirit to challenge new markets, it will be difficult to survive in the world market.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.