News Topic: China Mobile
Recently, an application called 'Chang Wireless' has gone viral on the internet because it exploits a WiFi management vulnerability in China Mobile to provide users with free wireless internet access. The app was developed by Shanghai Yunlian Computer Systems Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Yunlian). A company representative told the reporter of the Daily Economic News that they are not disclosing the software's development principles for the time being. She also stated that the company plans to add more features to the software in the future, allowing users to conveniently connect to WiFi networks of China Telecom and China Unicom.
Industry insiders noted that this software likely cracks the WLAN (wireless local area network) encryption set by the operators and uses this method for profit. So far, China Mobile has not responded to this issue.
Free Nationwide Coverage
The application can be downloaded on several major Android marketplaces. The software lets users bypass the 'WLAN user login verification interface' set by the operator, allowing them to use the operator's WiFi hotspots without entering a username or password and without incurring any fees.
The software's supported list includes nearly all CMCC WLAN hotspots in China Mobile except those in Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Shandong, the China Mobile campus WLAN 'CMCC-EDU' hotspots, and some university networks. The software can also help users search for nearby internet hotspots and provide their exact locations.
According to the reporter's test, the software not only allows users to conveniently and quickly connect to operator WiFi hotspots free of charge, but also can swiftly locate all hotspots within dozens of meters to two kilometers of the user's current location.
Ms. Lin, a representative of Yunlian, told the Daily Economic News reporter that the company is not in a position to disclose the software's development principles and will not respond to whether the product infringes on operators' rights.
‘We can provide long-term services to users, but there must be network support, and we cannot guarantee that no fees will be incurred at all,' she said.
She also pointed out that the company is currently trying to use in-app advertisements and a cross-promotion business model.
It is understood that once users connect to an operator's WiFi hotspot through 'Chang Wireless,' they will automatically receive ad pushes.At the same time, users can download other apps to obtain virtual currency for wireless internet access. "Currently, our software covers almost all provinces nationwide, but there are still some connectivity issues in Jiangxi Province. In the upcoming 1.2 update, it will further support Guangdong and Shandong provinces." She said. She further pointed out that the company also plans to cover China Telecom and China Unicom's WLAN networks in the future. An industry insider who wished to remain anonymous told reporters that Yunlian is recruiting iOS developers and may soon release a corresponding iOS version of the software. In response, Ma Jihua, a senior telecom analyst at Daojing Consulting, told the Daily Economic News reporter that Yunlian's software is very likely to exploit encryption vulnerabilities in carriers' WLAN technology for product development. "In fact, the security of WiFi technology has always been questioned. Yunlian may have found a backdoor for the operator's WLAN device and then exploited this vulnerability for network connections. It is worth noting that if it really operates through the device backdoor, the operator cannot block it, and this vulnerability may persist for a long time." said Ma Jihua.
Operators find it hard to control data pipelines
In fact, the three major operators have been "racing" in wireless network layout.
By the end of 2011, the total number of wireless LAN AP devices (access points) deployed by the three major operators had exceeded 3 million. Among them, China Mobile has about 2 million units, China Telecom about 600,000 units, and China Unicom about 500,000 units.
At the beginning of 2012, China Unicom and China Mobile launched WLAN equipment procurement successively. China Mobile's tender scale was about 1.29 million units, and China Unicom's total tender volume reached over 100 million yuan. According to China Telecom's "Wireless China" plan, by the end of 2012, Tianyi WiFi hotspots are expected to reach 1 million, three times the scale of mid-2011.
According to Guotai Junan's calculations, in 2011, the total investment in WLAN equipment by the three major operators will be around 1.8 billion yuan. Including supporting projects, the total investment will be 2.88 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 100%.However, because these hotspots are difficult for users to find and the login process is cumbersome, the current user experience of carrier WLANs is generally poor, which provides a survival space for applications like "Chang Wireless." Previously, Guangdong Mobile General Manager Xu Long stated externally that AT&T (a US carrier) has a WLAN connection rate of over 25% for mobile terminals, and the UK's BT (carrier) company exceeds 16%, whereas currently the customers using WLAN through mobile authentication in our country are less than 1%. "The reason why WLAN utilization is relatively low lies in: low awareness, inconvenient authentication, limited hotspot coverage and slow network speeds, lack of support for third-party services, and unsupported terminals. We have to find a way to bite into these hard challenges as soon as possible," he said. In response, Ma Jihua stated that due to the varying speed of the three major carriers in wireless network deployment, the three companies impose restrictions on each other, creating barriers for users to access WiFi networks. "In fact, the low WiFi utilization by domestic carriers is directly related to the restrictions imposed by the three companies themselves on their products. However, the rapid development of mobile internet is making closed systems increasingly difficult to maintain. Whatever carriers themselves do not connect, as long as there is demand, someone will step in to connect it for them. Data pipelines can no longer be firmly controlled," Ma Jihua said. —Daily Economic News *Content of this post comes from: cnBeat*
