Everyone thought about it and felt that Huang He wasn't trying to scam them. He simply wanted to monetize his technology. So, the question was, should they enter the mobile phone industry?
Judging by the development of the mobile phone industry, this was beyond doubt. Even a fool could see that mobile phones would inevitably become a communication tool for every person in the future. China had 1.3 billion people, which meant a colossal market of 1.3 billion units.
Furthermore, the replacement cycle for mobile phones was about one unit every five years. This meant that every five years, there would be 1.3 billion units sold. Any mobile phone manufacturer receiving even a fraction of this volume would see astronomical revenue.
It would be a lie to say they didn't want to enter the mobile phone market. Everyone hoped to get a piece of the pie.
But was the mobile phone industry really that easy to break into?
Setting aside companies unrelated to mobile phones, all the entrepreneurs present were from the electronic communications and mobile phone-related industries. They were all hesitant about venturing into the mobile phone sector.
What if they couldn't compete with international brands? What if they failed? Wouldn't they lose their entire capital?
Of course, in addition to contemplating whether to enter the market, some of those present were quite uneasy, namely Chairman Xu of Bird. He felt that this alliance seemed very unfriendly to him. After all, if this alliance succeeded, everyone present would become his competitors.
"Chairman Xu!" Suddenly, he heard Huang He say, "Chairman Xu, if I were you, I'd be the first to join!"
"Why?" Chairman Xu instinctively asked.
"Because then you would gain access to the technology and patents of Jiangnan Group. If none of the others present are willing to join, it means you alone can obtain a license for Jiangnan Group's technology and patents at a very low price. Isn't that a good thing?" Huang He said with a smile. Chairman Xu nodded, thinking that this was indeed true. If everyone else didn't join, he would definitely join.
"Wait, then if everyone else joins, wouldn't I not join?" Chairman Xu thought again and immediately rejected the idea.
No, if everyone else joins, then it's even more imperative for him to join. Otherwise, while others could benefit from the alliance's considerable resource support, he would get absolutely nothing.
"Mr. Huang, this is a matter for you hardware manufacturers. It shouldn't have much to do with us at China Unicom, right? The policies below also won't allow us to venture into the mobile phone industry!" the China Unicom representative asked with a smile.
"That's not entirely accurate!" Huang He said with a laugh. "Indeed, China Unicom may not be involved in mobile phone production, but the alliance doesn't just focus on mobile phone production."
"In the future, as the alliance grows stronger and all related domestic enterprises join, the alliance can then set industry standards, communication protocols, technical specifications, and a series of rules. Would China Unicom want to miss out on such an opportunity?" Huang He's words immediately changed the China Unicom representative's expression.
"Moreover, China Unicom can actually leverage the opportunity to join the alliance. Although China Unicom cannot produce mobile phones, it has so many offline service outlets. It can absolutely sell mobile phones. Additionally, China Unicom can offer contract phone plans and other solutions in the future, further expanding the domestic communication market."
"For example, in the future, if any of you release a groundbreaking mobile phone, and it can only be purchased with a China Unicom contract phone plan across China, wouldn't China Unicom be able to rise in one fell swoop with this phone and become the company with the largest market share in the domestic market?"
Huang He's words made the China Unicom representative somewhat tempted. Indeed, joining this industry alliance wouldn't directly benefit China Unicom in terms of promoting the mobile phones themselves, but it also wouldn't cause any harm. Whether to join or not was a neutral decision.
However, if they could also participate in setting industry standards, that would be a tremendous opportunity for China Unicom.
Of course, due to China Unicom's special nature, this representative couldn't make any promises on the spot. A decision would have to be made after reporting back to their superiors.
"Mr. Huang, at such a young age, you possess such breadth of vision and courage. I, an old man, admire you. On behalf of Huawei, I declare that Huawei is willing to join the industry alliance!" Just as everyone present remained silent, and the atmosphere grew increasingly awkward, Chairman Ren of Huawei broke the deadlock, and his announcement surprised everyone. xxs壹贰
Huawei was joining so readily? Didn't they need to think it over more?
Well, they didn't know that Huang He and Chairman Ren had already met beforehand. After all, as the two companies with the most technological reserves among everyone present, it would be difficult for Huang He to proceed without first persuading Huawei individually.
Fortunately, after Chairman Ren heard Huang He's intentions, he immediately agreed on the spot without any hesitation.
"We at Bird are also willing to join!" Hearing Huawei's agreement, Bird, who had long been coveting several technologies from Tianxing and Huawei, immediately spoke up.
However, only these two expressed their willingness to join. The rest of the people present remained silent, delaying their decision.
But this was normal. For such significant matters, unless one held absolute power within the company, no one dared to speak out and make a commitment directly.
"Distinguished seniors, I, this young man, will say one last thing. Regardless of whether you seniors agree or not, even if it's just the three of us, the alliance will inevitably be established, and everything I've said will surely be implemented. Furthermore, the alliance will impose restrictions on its members, and members within the alliance will undoubtedly enjoy unique benefits."
"Concurrently, the alliance will establish a committee, and specific details will be discussed further at the alliance's inaugural meeting. However, the power will naturally be shared by everyone, not solely by Jiangnan Group. It's just that future alliance members will be divided into founding members and affiliated members, and founding members will certainly have different treatment from affiliated members."
"On this day next month, we will hold the alliance's establishment conference in Shenzhen. At that time, we will send invitations to all large, medium, and small electronic industry companies nationwide. Whether you come or can be listed as a founding member will depend on your own decisions, distinguished seniors!"
"Alright, enough about business matters. I, Huang He, toast everyone here. Please forgive me, distinguished seniors!!"
Following this, it was time for eating and drinking. However, very few people actually started eating. Most of the people present kept asking Huang He for various details about the alliance.
Huang He answered them one by one.
For example, the alliance would not restrict subordinate enterprises from sharing all patents, but if they refused to share too many patents, they would be subject to restrictions.
For instance, the pricing of patents and technology would first refer to market value, then be set by the manufacturer, and then approved by the alliance committee. If the approval was not granted, the patents and technology would not be shared.
There was also the matter of products manufactured using the alliance's patents and technologies having to offer certain discounts to alliance members, with these discounts needing to be at least 1% higher than the prices for non-alliance sales.
Similarly, the licensing prices for patents and technologies must also be cheaper than external prices. Once a violation of this principle was discovered, the alliance would impose penalties, with the maximum penalty being direct expulsion from the alliance!
Thus, the dinner continued until around ten o'clock in the evening. During this time, three more companies expressed their willingness to join the alliance on the spot, and most of those present also conveyed their intentions.
Everyone wasn't foolish. This alliance could provide cheaper technology, more affordable product prices, as well as financial support, and could also determine industry technical standards. If they truly decided to enter the mobile phone industry, only a fool would refuse this alliance.
But if they didn't enter the mobile phone industry, it seemed even more reasonable to join the alliance, because they could profit from selling their technology through the alliance, making it pure profit within the alliance.
At the same time, a very small number of people realized that for this alliance, the most crucial right lay in setting industry standards.
To give a simple example, all mobile phones require charging cables. Suppose there are two manufacturers. One holds the patent and technology for interface A, and the other holds interface B.
If A is within the alliance and B is not, the alliance will inevitably adopt B's data cable technology patent and standard as the standard for the entire alliance.
Then, all mobile phone manufacturers within the alliance would have to use this standard to manufacture their phones... even if you didn't want to, you couldn't, because the manufacturers of related mobile phone interfaces would only produce interface B. You wouldn't even be able to buy interface A.
Not to mention that this also involved many related products. If you weren't in the alliance, you would naturally lose many technological advantages. The technologies you painstakingly researched might turn into a pile of waste paper, which would be very frustrating.
After they parted ways, they continued to ponder this issue.
A few days later, they were surprised to find that Jiangnan Group had already printed tens of thousands of relevant materials and alliance brochures and mailed them to all electronic industry companies nationwide, uniformly inviting them to attend the alliance's establishment conference.
This establishment conference was scheduled to be held on August 8, 2003, and would last for five days. These five days would be used to determine various alliance rules, elect the first alliance committee, and establish the alliance's patent and technology pool, among other things.
With Huang He's strong push, even if many were unwilling, this alliance would appear on Chinese soil. Whether they joined or not was their own decision.
In any case, only those who attended the establishment conference on August 8th would become founding members of the alliance. Those who did not attend would be considered new members, and the difference in treatment would compel them to consider this issue.