In the 1980s, a phone could make calls several kilometers away. This was a convenience that many people could not even imagine. However, it also unknowingly disturbed the order of the communications market.
Technological leaps and market opportunities
In the mid-1980s, the MEG series cordless phones manufactured in Japan found opportunities in the Asia-Pacific and Eastern European markets with their communication distance far exceeding that of household models. This type of equipment met the communication needs of areas where fixed-line telephone installation was difficult at the time and mobile phones had not yet reached widespread popularity. Especially in sparsely populated areas such as the Soviet Union, this "big cordless" phone became a practical alternative communication tool.
The operating frequency bands of these devices with generally enhanced transmit power are concentrated in the 30MHz to equal VHF frequency bands, and they adopt more stable frequency modulation technology. This is technological progress, and technological progress is the cornerstone of the market. Their calling range is not only a few tens of meters like ordinary cordless phones, but extends to several kilometers in open areas. They have initially achieved medium-distance wireless communication and can freely conduct such communication. This paves the way for the launch of more radical products in the future.
"Super long distance" business experience
Some people sense that the market has a desire for distance, so they push the power in a more extreme direction. Some people such as Lin Baoyong in Taiwan, China, captured this mentality and then set out to promote the so-called "long-distance wireless communication equipment." At first, they may have obtained profits by distributing Japanese products, and then turned to find electronics factories for OEM, manufacturing more powerful customized models, so as to create their own personal brand.
It is a business model whose essence lies in circumventing strict telecommunications regulations and taking advantage of the gray area in radio management at that time. The product is promoted as a "mother-to-child phone", but in fact the transmit power far exceeds the legal standard. The power of the mother machine can reach fifteen watts, and the slave machine can also have five watts. In terms of its signal, it can propagate several kilometers between urban buildings, and even claims to be able to reach an astonishing tens of kilometers in open areas.
The popularity and hidden dangers of “black pearls”
Following this trend, high-power cordless phones entered the Chinese mainland market in the late 1980s. Due to their appearance and coverage characteristics, they earned nicknames such as "Black Pearl" and "Second Brother". In cities such as Guangzhou and Shanghai that were opened up relatively early, some citizens and merchants began to use these devices in order to achieve the convenience of making calls "anytime and anywhere."
However, behind such convenience lies great potential for interference. Such high transmitting power will extremely seriously interfere with key radio services such as civil aviation navigation and public security firefighting. Around 1988, Shanghai took the lead in strengthening radio management and clearly prohibited the use of such high-power cordless phones. The Japanese equipment used by user Guan Hukui has become a concrete footnote in this history.
From smuggling to crackdown on the industrial chain
A complete gray industry chain was born due to market demand. According to practitioners' memories, the huge number of "black pearls" that came in through smuggling led the country in trade volume, and even the goods were transported in containers. After Shenzhen Huaqiangbei formed a specialized communications market in 1994, there were many kinds of cordless phones and walkie-talkies, and there was no shortage of such high-power products.
In the face of increasingly serious radio wave order problems, the government's corresponding crackdowns have continued to increase one by one. In 1996, Shen Dongchang of the Tianjin Radio Management Committee wrote an article to provide a comprehensive description, emphasizing that its production and sales must be strictly prohibited. This has become a sign that the cleanup of such "big cordless" products started from local pilots and then moved towards normalized supervision across the country.
Legalization attempts and eventual demise
While the crackdown on illegal "big cordless" services continues, the market's demand for mobile communications has not gone away, prompting some legal attempts. In the early 1990s, Hong Kong Hutchison Telecom and other operators launched the CT2 service, also known as "Heaven-to-Earth Line", as a public cordless phone service capable of roaming, and was promoted by star Lai Lai in advertisements. It can be regarded as a kind of "second brother" for compliance operations.
However, technologies such as CT2 are ultimately transitional products. In the mid-to-late 1990s, GSM digital cellular networks quickly became popular, and the size of mobile phones gradually decreased, and the prices also gradually decreased. The tariffs also gradually became less, and network coverage became more and more complete. The once very popular "Black Pearl" and various high-power cordless phones eventually completely withdrew from the stage of history because their legality was not as good as that of regular mobile communications, the call quality was also incomparable, and the security was also incomparable.
Enlightenment and echoes of business models
Looking back at this period of history, the key is a business operation model that looks for opportunities in the gaps between regulations. It uses technical methods, that is, to increase efficiency, to perfectly meet specific needs, that is, long-distance calls, and to quickly build a production and sales chain. This model is not completely absent, but has echoes in other fields.
For example, at the beginning of the 21st century, PHS was successful in mainland China. This was partly due to the help of specific frequency bands and policies, and low rates to meet the local call needs of urban users. Even abroad, like when Dai Hui expanded GSM business in the Philippines in 2005, he also referred to similar ideas and attracted many young users by providing ultra-low tariffs and concentrated urban coverage.
Nowadays, we are in the era of 5G and the Internet of Everything. Think about the time when we worked hard for a phone with a communication range of several kilometers. Does that experience seem as distant as a dream now, like a story from another world?
