5G has been heralded as a tech game changer but consumers in China are underwhelmed by spotty coverage and hard sell
- This is the second in a two-part series, which looks at how China’s millions of mobile consumers have yet to take to 5G, with reality not living up to the hype
- Mobile operators are facing blowback from consumers on 5G, unsatisfied with network coverage, expensive handsets and hard sell tactics
As a busy Beijing-based banker, Kelvin Li relies heavily on his smartphone for messaging, email, and video calls during his frequent business trips, but he finds that reception can be spotty on his travels.
So when he heard about the promise of 5G networks, with their higher capacity and increased data speeds, he was keen to sign on the dotted line with an eager sales person.
“I heard from my carrier that 5G would provide reliable and fast data speeds, and that is important to me,” said Li. “I upgraded my data plan early this year. But so far I do not feel any improvement on data service.”
Li is not the only one in China to be underwhelmed by 5G, a technology that carriers have touted as ushering in a new range of consumer services, such as being able to download a full HD movie in seconds, enabling augmented reality features and even helping to push autonomous driving forward.
A recent survey by Guangzhou-based iiMedia Research showed that three in four non-5G users did not feel a need to buy a 5G phone. Over 62 per cent of 4G users surveyed said they did not have any demand for 5G, with over 44 per cent and 30 per cent put off by costly mobile plans and handsets respectively, according to the September survey.