電信業因應科技演進衝擊之競爭策略

Abstract

過往的台灣電信業為傳統的公共獨佔事業。民國八十五年起，政府推動電信事業民營化，經過二十多年的市場自由競爭，用戶數快速成長。而隨著行動通訊與網際網路科技的迅速發展，加上智慧型手機與其他應用不斷地推陳出新，消費者對行動網路使用的依賴，已遠遠超過了對固網的使用。

行動通訊科技的演進，從1G到現在的4G，乃至預訂2020年商轉的5G，每一代的科技演進，都帶來了嶄新且多元的服務與應用，傳統的人與人、人與物的溝通，也隨之演進到物與物的溝通。然電信業者能否因勢得利，甚至坐擁金山？

其實隨著市場的飽和，各電信業者只能不斷地以價格戰來互搶用戶；行動通訊科技的進步與手機上的多元應用，完全改變用戶的使用行為。電信業者在「吃到飽」的魔咒下，只能收取固定的月租費，但卻必須不斷地擴充設備，以滿足用戶「吃到飽」的網路速度需求，這一來一往下，電信的獲利已遭到嚴重侵蝕。2018 年的「499之亂」，老大哥中華電信帶頭砍價，更讓整個電信市場獲利雪上加霜，業者苦不堪言。電信業在此困境下，雖積極發展無線通訊之周邊服務(如音樂、影音等加值服務)，然幾年下來，台灣市場太小，無法抵擋如Apple Music、Spotify、Netflix、愛奇藝等跨國大品牌前來跨界搶市。

通訊科技的革新，對電信業者而言，是威脅，也是機會。如何在威脅中，殺除重圍並脫困，是本研究的主要目的。本論文之研究歸納如下: (1) 以「五力分析」理論為主要的研究方法，對當前電信業面臨科技的演進與現實競爭的多重衝擊及壓力，進行整體的產業分析，評估電信產業前景。 (2) 個案公司面臨營收下滑的挑戰，以「價值鏈模型」分析個案公司之競爭優勢，宜發展其他競爭策略，翻轉新的商業模式，以萌發新的獲利契機。 (3) 針對以上的分析與結合前輩過往的學術研究，分析個案公司的優劣勢，據以提出建議，供個案公司參考。

Taiwan’s telecommunications industry has been a state-owned monopoly for decades since its halcyon days. After the government began privatizing the industry in 1996, however, its user base has grown rapidly over the ensuing 20 years. The market has evolved among intense competition and the advancement of mobile and internet technologies, such as the introduction of smart phones and numerous applications thereof. Today, mobile data access is considered indispensable to the consumers as the fixed line usage gradually lost its relevance. The evolving mobile technology in every generation (1G through 4G) has brought forth a myriad of new applications and services. As telecom operators expect the commercial launch of 5th Generation standard in 2020, they are actively positioning with sustainable profits and shifting competitive landscape in mind, where communication among people, devices and machines are blurring. A saturated market with highly homogeneous products naturally invites cut-throat price competition to gain market share. Coupled with heavy users encouraged by ever fast devices and data-demanding applications, telecom operators have endured tremendous cost pressures to offer unlimited plans at ultra-low pricing to meet surging bandwidth demands. The recent “499 chaos” initiated by ChungHwa Telecom has further squeezed industry players’ bottom lines, not to mention their rising investments in infrastructure under prevailing flat-rate schemes. As such, all players started offering music and multimedia subscription services to enhance profitability mix. However, the borderless nature of digital contents consumption has largely rendered their efforts ineffective given the dominance by global powerhouses (Apple, Spotify, Netflix and IQiyi). For telecom operators, mobile innovations represent both opportunities and threats. The objective of this thesis is to identify driving forces shaping the current industry dynamics and offer strategies to beat competitors. There are 3 main sections of this study: 1) On the backdrop of ultra-fast innovations and competitive dynamics, this study utilized Porter’s “Five-Forces Analysis” to conduct a telecom sector analysis and evaluate its future paths. 2) Based on “Value Chain” model, this study analyzed the company’s competitive advantages in view of falling revenues amid multifaceted challenges, as well as formulated alternative strategies to drive profits, such as re-engineering business models. 3) Incorporating the above and pertinent academic researches, the study aims to provide recommendations for decision makers by evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the company in the case study.