409: Chapter 409 The Worried Mobile Company

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of China Mobile in Beijing.

Xi Guohua threw the documents onto the table, and the wrinkles on his forehead instantly deepened.

He really hadn't expected that Transsion, a mobile phone company, would actually enter the upstream industry. A mobile phone company should just focus on selling phones; why get involved in this?

But in the end, he could only sigh silently.

"Take a look at this. This move by Transsion is quite interesting. We've been busy rushing to launch 4G domestically, and while they did manage to grab the domestic 4G phone debut, they ended up giving us a surprise in return. However, the good news for now is that Transsion doesn't have a share of the 4G license."

As soon as his voice fell, a buzz of chatter erupted in the conference room.

Someone actually suggested throttling Transsion on 4G services, but they were quickly hit by the person next to them. After all, would that really be throttling Transsion?

They would be throttling themselves!

Such a plan was as stupid as it could possibly be.

Li Yue, the CEO, felt significant pressure. After all, he was well aware of the relationship between Transsion and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, not to mention the contributions Transsion had made.

If Shen Fei really wanted it, the higher-ups might consider it and grant him the license after weighing everything. After all, the reputation of the three major carriers hadn't been very good over the past two years.

Gone were the high-quality plans from the time of the major 3G price cuts...

"Our domestic market is much larger than Africa's, and the spending power is stronger. China Mobile is the most critical player, but that doesn't mean we can let our guard down. After all, this is Transsion; neither their background nor their capital is inferior to ours."

"Old Li, that is exactly what I am worried about!"

Xi Guohua relit a cigarette, the look of worry in his eyes deepening.

But he also knew that worrying wouldn't solve the problem.

After chatting and discussing for a long time in the conference room, there was still no viable plan.

He tapped the table again.

"You all can't come up with anything even if you discuss it. We will stick to the original plan: domestic 4G construction must proceed on schedule, at double the speed, and prices will be reduced by 10%! In any case, we must stay ahead of China Unicom and China Telecom. Since we are now in a 'poison circle,' we have to see who runs faster. By the way, besides price cuts, we must increase cooperation with ZTE and Huawei. Stop using foreign base stations; we must support our local companies."

Li Yue instantly understood what Xi Guohua meant. As long as they exceeded China Unicom and China Telecom and expressed their stance, that would suffice...

As for domestic equipment, this was to avoid criticism, since they were now using domestic products and supporting domestic industry.

A head of the marketing department said: "Understood. After the meeting, we will immediately increase our monitoring of Transsion in Africa! We will figure out their model and also actively inquire about the intentions of the higher-ups, so we aren't caught off guard."

Xi Guohua didn't speak, but nodded.

...

After the meeting ended, only he and CEO Li Yue remained in the office.

"This Shen Fei really has guts. Mobile operators are true cash cows, yet he, an outsider, actually dares to run these businesses in Africa. Isn't he afraid of someone smashing his operation?"

"Old Xi, that's enough talk. Who would dare to smash his stuff? Do you really think his security team is just for show?"

Xi Guohua rolled his eyes at him, wanting to say something, but unable to refute it.

After all, according to news from his old superior, Transsion had recruited quite a few people with buzz cuts this year to serve as instructors in Africa.

And they were supporting so many people without it impacting their revenue.

This was what he envied most.

Xi Guohua hesitated for a long time, then finally said:

"But in all fairness, this move of his is ruthless and accurate. Africa has weak infrastructure and carrier services can't keep up. He brought phones and base stations together; now his business model is truly a closed loop. It's a pity that we are tied up by all sorts of red tape domestically; wanting to do something like this isn't nearly as flexible."

Li Yue, standing by, smiled. Those red tape issues were only there because of a lack of regulation in the past, which led to some problems...

"Alright, stop envying him. I just need you to keep a close watch. If our domestic 4G construction is slow and users compare us to him, we will lose a lot of face."

Similar meeting content or private discussions were taking place simultaneously at China Telecom and China Unicom.

China Unicom was even contacting old superiors to ask about the possibility of Transsion entering the domestic market, but the old superiors were very vague...

...

On January 1st, Transsion Telecom Africa Co., Ltd. was officially inaugurated in Lagos.

The first CEO was Mr. Adebayo, who took the role concurrently.

However, the ministers of communications from countries like Mauritius, Nigeria, and Ghana all attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

It was a great pity that Shen Fei did not attend the inauguration ceremony, but he recorded a video to participate in his stead.

"Transsion's success today would not be possible without the African market. Therefore, to ensure a better future for the African market, Transsion will build its own 4G network for Africa! This is our promise. We are not just here to sell products and make money; we are here to build infrastructure for Africa. Africans deserve a better 4G network! Transsion Telecom is the carrier for the people of Africa."

The Nigerian audience around them went wild once again. They remembered waiting for the initial launch in Lagos; whether it was a Feature phone for a few dozen dollars or a smartphone for 300 dollars, both made them feel the joy of technology.

Before the press conference had even finished, it had already hit multiple hot searches on AfriLink.

#Transsion: From King of Mobile Phones to Telecom Upstart#

#MTN and Vodafone, Your New Competitor Has Arrived#

After cutting the ribbon with the ministers from various countries and receiving their well-wishes, Mr. Adebayo stood back on the interview stage.

"Mr. Adebayo, what exactly is Transsion's plan?"

"According to rumors, Transsion's first batch of base stations will be 2,500. Is this news true?"

"What is Transsion's strategy? Is it like in China, where you don't give up on any location, or are you focusing on key cities?"

Looking at these chattering reporters, Mr. Adebayo filtered through these questions.

For instance, he didn't want to answer the question raised by that South African press.

After all, this was Africa, not China. In China, that's about basic guarantees, while they were a commercial operating company; how could they build in every single place!

They were rich, not idiots!

But since this was an interview segment, he still smiled and replied:

"Regarding the 2,500 base stations, that is the first-year plan of our three-year plan, and this number is limited to Nigeria. We have synchronized plans for countries like Ghana. Our total investment budget for this year is 1.2 billion US dollars, and all installation personnel will carry out installations independently under the guidance of a Chinese technical team. We will continue to bring a group of telecom engineers to Africa, which will also provide a very considerable income for tens of thousands of African families!"