Mobile phone unlimited traffic package was vomited by users： it was slowed down after using 20 g.
Since the three major operators launched unlimited packages, the regulation that traffic usage will be limited after reaching a certain threshold is not well known and has been criticized by users.
Recently, a number of users reported to the complaint platform of the quality report column that during the use of unlimited packages, they were notified by SMS of operators to slow down, and some "WeChat couldn’t get on for a long time", and some even normal work was affected. Although some packages can restore the normal internet access speed by purchasing a flow refueling package, users still say that they have been cheated, because when handling packages, operators focus on "unlimited flow" and "free use", but rarely mention the "speed limit" regulation.
The Paper combed and found that most of the online business halls of local operators advertised unlimited packages at the top. Only by clicking on the product details page can you see the speed limit plan marked in gray or fine print.
In addition, in order to promote a variety of unlimited packages, the three major operators often reduce the monthly fee by giving away the phone bill in the early stage of package use, and focus on promoting the discounted price, and then the package is "more expensive".
Analysts pointed out that operators should adjust their promotion strategies and make clear the unlimited traffic.
Also worthy of users’ attention is the free service of APP exclusive traffic launched by operators in cooperation with Internet companies. The reporter found out that these free exclusive traffic actually contains a number of exclusion rules, and some operations and services on the APP cannot be used, so they can only pay extra traffic charges.
"Unlimited" can be seen everywhere, and "speed limit" stipulates that small notes should be found.
A user in Haikou, Hainan reported that she bought an unlimited family package of China Mobile 98 yuan. I usually like to play Tik Tok, Weibo and WeChat, because I have opened hot spots for my friends to use, and I will run out of 20G in the middle and late of each month. After 20G was used up, the Internet speed dropped to a point where it was difficult to log in even to WeChat, and it was extremely difficult to send text and browse pictures at most. It was only after consulting customer service and re-purchasing 15 yuan 3G domestic traffic acceleration package that it returned to normal.
Another user from Jiangsu said that the China Telecom 99 yuan unlimited package he handled also had a speed limit after 20G, and he didn’t notice the regulation until the operator sent a text message. "I usually watch TV dramas and national karaoke, but the problem is that this product can’t be called unlimited."
In response to the speed limit problem reflected by netizens, the reporter consulted the websites of online business halls of China Unicom, China Mobile and China Telecom in many places, and found that most of the front pages of business halls advertised unlimited packages. The slogans included "unlimited traffic", "unlimited traffic" and "unlimited sharing", but almost no tips about speed limit were found.
Click to enter a product page. In most cases, the word "unlimited" can be seen everywhere, while the prompt for slowing down is generally behind, and it is indicated in inconspicuous small print or gray body.
For example, in the details page of China Telecom’s official website Tianyi national unlimited package, the first thing that catches your eye is still the bold slogan — — "If you want to watch the live broadcast, you can watch it, and the traffic is willful." In the tariff table at the lower position, the column of national traffic only indicates "unlimited". The speed limit regulations can only be found in the small print notes below if you look carefully. According to the note, 99 yuan -999 yuan packages with different stalls have different deceleration thresholds of 20-80G. After the cumulative domestic mobile Internet traffic reaches the corresponding threshold in the current month, the Internet access rate drops to 1Mbps, and it will resume in the next month.
China Telecom official website Unlimited Package Details Page
China Mobile’s "Let Me Use" national unlimited package in 88 yuan is more complicated and distributed in different interfaces. The details page shows that the traffic in the package is only 2G, and another 12 months of 8G domestic traffic is given, while the traffic outside the package emphasizes that "domestic traffic is unlimited and can be used at will".
China Mobile’s Unlimited Package Product Details Page
Only by clicking to enter another interface of tariff standard, the last item of tariff rules explains that the traffic outside the package will slow down the internet access speed. According to the rules, if 9 yuan 3G domestic traffic refueling package is handled at this time, the Internet speed can be restored.
As for the speed reduction regulation after the total usage flow reaches 100G, you can only find it in the warm prompt interface — — The network speed will drop below 128Kbps.
The speed limit rules with different usage are distributed in two different interfaces.
It is also difficult to find the regulations on speed limit on the homepage interface of the network halls of China Unicom. However, in comparison, you can see a clearer "speed limit description" by clicking into the unlimited package of big and small ice cards, and the bold font is used uniformly.
On the inner page of an unlimited ice cream package in a certain area of China Unicom, the speed limit description is clearer and marked in bold font.
For the promotion of unlimited packages in the offline business hall, many users also reported that the staff publicized "unlimited" and "free use" when handling, and most of the speed limit regulations were not mentioned. However, the SMS reminder received after the successful package is too long, and the speed limit reminder is often easily ignored by users.
Insiders: There is nothing wrong with the speed limit, but the fault lies in the promotion method.
In fact, it has long been an international practice to over-limit unlimited packages.
According to the People’s Post and Telecommunications, the consideration of over-limit design is to ensure that most users can use the mobile network fairly and reasonably. In 2007, when Apple’s mobile phone became popular in the United States, users’ demand for mobile Internet access was greatly stimulated. American telecom operators started unlimited package plans, but because there were no restrictions, the user experience dropped significantly, and finally operators stopped developing unlimited packages.
According to some technical experts, due to the limited total bandwidth of the shared base station in the mobile network, if many users occupy the mobile network at high speed at the same time, it may cause network congestion. According to the principle of "first come, first served", users who want to access the Internet later will not be able to access the Internet and need to wait in line. At the same time, the internet speed of other users who are already online will also become "turtle speed", and the experience will become worse. Therefore, at present, the unlimited packages around the world are all designed in steps — — First, meet the maximum network speed promised by the vast majority of users. After reaching the speed limit, the network speed will drop.
However, despite this, Liu Qicheng, editor-in-chief of all media who has been concerned about the development of the domestic communication industry for many years and the communication world, said that he could not agree with the current promotion methods of domestic operators.
"(Operators should) clearly explain the unlimited traffic, and it is best to clearly explain what 10 G’s can do and what they can achieve, instead of simply emphasizing unlimited, weakening the speed limit information, marking it with small words or casually mentioning it to you." Liu Qicheng said.
For example, Liu Qicheng said that the Internet access rate in the 2G era can only reach 9.6Kb, and it can reach 1-2Mb in the 3G era. However, in today’s 4G era, the ideal situation can reach 5-10Mb, and generally it can reach 2-4Mb. Therefore, once the limit is limited, the user’s experience will inevitably deteriorate significantly, not to mention the fact that the user’s expectation is infinitely improved.
On the homepage of official website in a certain area of China Telecom, it can be seen that the "unlimited" package promotion is obvious, and "unlimited" is promoted in bold font, but there is no mention of "speed limit" and other regulations.
The monthly fee is "more expensive", and the APP is free of many restrictions on traffic.
In addition to the difficulty in finding the speed limit, The Paper found that some unlimited packages launched by operators will make users feel "more expensive" because they offer a large number of preferential prices in the early stage.
For example, China Mobile launched an unlimited package with a preferential price of 68 yuan, and its original price was 128 yuan. After recharging, the monthly fee of new users dropped by as much as 60 yuan, and it dropped by 30 yuan after 12 months, and the original price was restored after 24 months.
A similar situation exists in a number of unlimited packages launched by China Telecom. Among them, the monthly fee for the Premium Edition of Grand Card is 46 yuan. In the first 12 months, 25 yuan phone bill will be given every month, and the monthly fee will be reduced to 21 yuan, and the original price will be restored one year later.
In contrast, China Unicom’s unlimited packages have not adopted the above-mentioned long-term preferential way. At present, the "Big Ice Card" and the "Little Ice Card" packages are paid in one lump sum by pre-storing the phone bill from 99 yuan to 100 yuan and pre-storing the phone bill from 49 yuan to 50 yuan respectively.
The unlimited package launched by China Mobile in a certain place has a large number of phone bill concessions in the first 24 months, and then the original price is restored.
China Telecom launched a premium version of the Grand Card package, giving away more than half a month’s phone bill in the first 12 months, and restoring the original price one year later.
Fu Liang, a telecom analyst who has been paying attention to the Internet and communication for a long time, believes that the one-time discount method not only gives discounts to new users, but also avoids the situation that the package is "more expensive to use". "The ideal way is to operate a user from the moment the user enters the door, so that users can feel cheaper and cheaper tariffs and better service, instead of attracting users with high preferential policies and then letting them go."
In addition to the increasingly expensive monthly fee, The Paper also found that the exclusive traffic is not applicable to all operations in the traffic-free package that operators cooperate with Internet companies.
For example, the "Let Me Watch" video traffic package promotion launched by China Mobile can be used exclusively on many video apps such as Mi Gu Video and Tencent Video, but the scope of use of these targeted traffic is still limited — — The traffic generated by online viewing/downloading/caching of pictures, texts, advertisements in videos, barrage, third-party advertisements, etc. in the APP is not within the exclusive traffic use range, that is, users need to pay extra traffic fees for it.
Description of the scope of use of exclusive mobile video traffic in Migu Video APP.
Tencent Wangka (including Dawang Card, Diwang Card and Tianwang Card) jointly launched by China Unicom and Tencent also has similar regulations, although it claims that "over 100 APPlications are free of traffic" and "Say goodbye to Wifi and use it whenever you want". The exclusive traffic description at the bottom of the introduction page shows that services such as web pages and videos provided by third parties on the app, such as mobile news network, sogou, Baidu, iQiyi video, Ctrip and JD.COM, are not Tencent. In addition, the streaming-free range of a variety of live apps is limited to watching live broadcasts and playing videos, while using mobile phones for live broadcasts, uploading videos, loading text and pictures in live broadcasts, and video on demand are not within the exclusive traffic range.
The scope of application of the exclusive traffic of Dawang Card jointly launched by Unicom and Tencent.
In this regard, some netizens said that because they didn’t notice the relevant reminders, after running an APP directional flow card, the phone bill did not drop but increased, and the above rules were discovered after consultation.
Ma Jihua, an analyst in the telecommunications industry, said in an interview with Zhongxin.com this year that the publicity of targeted traffic is still vague, mainly depending on how the APP and the basic manufacturers negotiate, but the contract will not be publicized to users, and there is no unified standard for publicity.
(Reporter Wen Wei Intern Yan Xiaoyan)
(Original title:Unlimited mobile phone traffic packages are spit out: "unlimited" is very big, and "speed limit" is hard to find)