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The RBT service is a value-added service through which carriers possess a strategic control point and a native profit model. Can today's video RBT service replicate the glory of the voice RBT days?
By Li Changwei, Gan Lei, Zhou Heng, and Kang Rui, Huawei Carrier BG
4G changed the world. With the development of 4G networks, the evolution of scenario-based innovations for mobile Internet led to leading applications in the megabit era such as TikTok and Kwai. If video RBT can be innovative enough to deliver value and experience comparable to these apps and become a major part of the professional user-generated content (PUGC) industry, it could evolve into another killer application.
Back when China Mobile was developing its RBT services, voice RBT alone accounted for 3.4% of the carrier's total revenue, topping the global market based on user numbers and revenues in the voice era. Today, the video RBT market is gaining traction. Currently, the penetration rate of China Mobile's video RBT users is about 20% to 30%, generating an annual revenue of 7 to 8 billion Chinese yuan (US$1.046 billion to US$1.195 billion), with a high gross margin. However, it should also be noted that video RBT only accounts for 1% of China Mobile's total revenue, a ten-fold gap compared with voice RBT in the voice era. Video RBT users are mostly found in the high-end 20%, while the 20% to 80% range where most revenue is generated has yet to be tapped. This means that the video RBT market has a growth potential of twofold to fivefold.