Silicon Valley has triggered upheaval in the communications industry, and Europe has been abandoned?

The heart of the old communications industry is moving from Europe to Silicon Valley, and the Internet industry is triggering a revolution in the communications industry. In this profound change, if participants are too far from Silicon Valley, they will not escape the fate of being abandoned.

On October 22, Nokia chose to release new products in Abu Dhabi, which was the first new product release after being acquired by Microsoft. Although Microsoft said it would retain the Nokia brand, the outside world still speculated that this would be the "singing song" of Nokia's new product release. On the one hand, it was a concern about the appeal of its products, and on the other hand, it was doubts about whether Microsoft could make Nokia come back. Finland ’s former pride, Nokia was completely defeated by Apple from Silicon Valley. It failed to save Nokia ’s former CEO Elop, who received a turnover of 18.8 million euros for the acquisition transaction, which annoyed the Prime Minister of Finland.

What annoys Europe is not only Elop ’s sky-high turnover, but also the threat from Silicon Valley to the heart of the communications industry. Once, if you want to say the heart of the communications industry, you may think of Europe first. Most of the names that are so eloquent are in Europe: Alcatel in France, Siemens in Germany, Nokia in Finland, and of course, Ericsson in Sweden. In addition to Europe, there are some other giants in other places: such as Nortel in Canada, Lucent on the east coast of the United States, and Motorola in Chicago.

But now, the heart of the communications industry is no longer Europe.

In terms of network equipment, in 2006, Alcatel and Lucent chose to merge in response to the economic difficulties in Europe and the United States and the threats from Chinese manufacturers. However, the merger did not completely save the two companies. In October this year, there were news that the two companies will be in France, Germany laid off 15,000 people. Nokia and Siemens also chose to hug the winter, but their situation is similar to that of Arang, and the news of layoffs is constantly exposed. This is not the most tragic ending. Nortel has collapsed in the past and went bankrupt in 2009. Its collapse left only a large amount of money for the new giants (mostly Internet vendors from Silicon Valley: Google , Apple) looted patents.

On the terminal side, Apple from Silicon Valley has completely disrupted the battle. Motorola, the inventor of the mobile phone, has been taken over by another manufacturer from Silicon Valley, Google. Even if it is backed by a big tree, it is in a bad situation: people are always speculating that it has been completed. The mission (contributing 17,000 patents) of when it will be completely ended by Google; the fate of the former giant ship Nokia is also similar to it, and the alliance with Microsoft not only failed to save Nokia, but was eventually received by Microsoft at a low price. .

For Apple and Google from Silicon Valley, these former communications giants are no longer terrible competitors but tempting patents and test fields for hardware products.

An indisputable fact is before us: the glory of the European communications giant is being masked by Silicon Valley. The pace of Silicon Valley's disruption of the traditional telecommunications industry continues: on October 7 this year, Google, Facebook, Intel and Microsoft joined the A4AI Alliance (Alliance for Affordable Internet, Affordable Internet Alliance), the alliance's goal is to bring global entry-level broadband Internet access costs are reduced to less than 5% of personal monthly income. This seemingly benefiting the public is actually subverting the business model of the operator-relying on charging for Internet and mobile Internet access to provide services, reducing this part of the cost will not only affect the operator but also affect the communication manufacturer.

In fact, due to the global economic recession, the decline in operator profits, and the reduction in network equipment investment has made equipment manufacturers sad. In addition to the Chinese manufacturers Huawei and ZTE who are good at controlling costs, Ericsson is gradually transforming services. It is the only old European communication giant that can stand up because of its early choice to embrace Silicon Valley: 2009 Go to Silicon Valley to establish its US headquarters and R & D organization, move its mobile internet-related business and R & D to the US, and actively work closely with local US operators. At the terminal level, today's industry leader is Google, which has mastered the Android operating system, in addition to the highly successful vertical integration of Apple in the industry chain.

Internet giants from Silicon Valley did not intend to stop there. For them, the cost of setting up a network is too high. The current communication format is that operators have the lifeline of tariffs and network experience, as services and content. Internet vendors are no longer satisfied with making articles in their own ring, but have to force operators to reduce tariffs to improve the experience. For example, Google provides extremely low-cost Internet access services in local areas, making users regard Internet access as A service that should have a lower cost and a better experience, which stimulates user demand and also makes operators have to reconsider the tariff setting. In fact, Google can only establish a "stronghold" with a demonstration effect, but it cannot be true. Provide basic communication services.

However, in the face of the impact from the Internet industry, no matter how operators worry about the fate of becoming a pipeline, they cannot stop the arrival of this megatrend. Without change, it means that they cannot survive. The way to change is to stay close to Silicon Valley and embrace the Internet. The reason Ericsson survived and found a new business model has to be attributed to the earlier realization that the heart of the industry has quietly shifted from Europe to Silicon Valley. And this whirlwind in Silicon Valley soon radiates the world, for example, domestic Tencent WeChat is also challenging operators, borrowing operators' pipelines and bypassing the value chain of traditional communications, and this kind of OTT business is likely to become more and more in the future. many.

For former giants, such a fate seems too miserable, but cruel business competition never gives you more time and opportunities because you are a giant. Nokia's collapse is an example.

Faced with the upheaval caused by the Internet, it will continue to affect the communications industry, and no one can avoid it. Of course, the communications industry is only one of them. Foreign media have predicted that the center of the advertising industry will also move from Madison Avenue in New York to Silicon Valley. The emergence of Google and Facebook has caused headaches for traditional advertising agencies. They directly provide Internet-based advertising to advertisers. Marketing solutions; Detroit ’s auto giants are also having a hard time. Google and Apple are all clamoring for cars. People ’s focus on the original engine of the car has greatly diminished. Instead, they have focused on how cars can be smarter to achieve. Assistant driving. Of course, there are many examples to enumerate.

It can be said that there has never been a place like Silicon Valley, where the business of technological change is so vividly interpreted, and new technologies are here to change and even create various industries.