Will Qualcomm's patent fees be reduced when China accelerates the withdrawal of 2G3G?
According to a report some time ago, China Unicom issued an announcement to users that from 2024, new users will open 4G and 5G functions by default, and new mobile phone cards will no longer support 2G 3G functions.
In other words, new users of the Unicom network cannot use the Unicom number on mobile phones that do not support 4G 5G capabilities.
Previously, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology required the three major operators"Speed up the cancellation of 2G 3G"Because this means that domestic operators are making every effort to promote the cancellation of 2G and 3G, in fact, China Unicom and Mobile Telecom will definitely do so.
Why are MIIT and the three major operators calling for faster retirement of 2G and 3G networks? There are many reasons, but the first is that although there are not many 2G and 3G users, operators have 4 networks of 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G in operation, so the energy efficiency ratio is not high, the cost is high, and the pressure is very high.
In addition, 2G and 3G take up a lot of spectrum. If you can shut down 2G and 3G networks and make more abundant frequency bands for 4G 5G, you can build a wider 4G 5G network in a more optimized way.
Before, the closure of 2G and 3G networks was mandatory, because there were many 2G and 3G users, and at the same time, 5G network coverage was not so comprehensive, so the promotion speed was not so fast, but now 5G coverage is very comprehensive, 4G is a blind spot in the national coverage and most mobile phones are 4G, 5G support, so the time is getting more and more mature, and operators will accelerate the speed.
For handset manufacturers, once 2G 3G disappears from the network, they don't have to worry about their phones supporting 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G modes at the same time.
At the same time, because Qualcomm has a large number of 2G and 3G patents, especially CDMA patents, it is estimated that Qualcomm's patent royalties will be less, and once mobile phone manufacturers do not use these patents because of Qualcomm's monopoly, it is estimated that the patent royalties will be less.