China Mobile CEO Li Yue: SMS will be eliminated in the 5G era

SMS was once the most popular communication application in China, but with the rise of mobile Internet and WeChat sweeping across China, SMS has gradually declined. The topic of "SMS is dead" is also mentioned by the media from time to time.

At the 2015 China Mobile Shareholders Meeting held yesterday, China Mobile CEO Li Yue said that due to the impact of OTT services, the usage of traditional SMS services has dropped rapidly. If 5G networks are commercially available, SMS services will be eliminated.

Therefore, China Mobile will combine SMS service with converged communication service (RCS) to form the future Internet messaging service. According to C114, China Mobile RCS will be commercially available in the second half of this year.

Li Yue also pointed out that China Mobile will conduct internal testing of 5G this year and start external testing next year, and it is expected to be commercially available by 2020. Xue Taohai, deputy general manager and chief financial officer of China Mobile, revealed that China Mobile's 5G capital expenditure is close to zero, and it is mainly researched together with other industry partners. In 2017-2018, the proportion of 5G capital expenditure will still be relatively small.

Li Yue believes that global operators are facing the problem of business transformation, and China Mobile's net profit margin and unit profitability will continue to decline in the 5G era. However, China Mobile will continue to research and develop and ensure profits by expanding its business scale.

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.