Special interview
Written by: Ou Jiajun
2020-09-07 07:30
Last update date: 2020-09-07 07:30
The concept of smart cities has taken root globally. The Hong Kong government first published the "Hong Kong Smart City Blueprint" in December 2017, covering six major areas, one of which is smart mobility, which facilitates citizens' travel through the use of technology.
In an exclusive interview with "Hong Kong 01", Hutchison Telecommunications (0215) Chief Executive Officer Gu Xinghui introduced the group's solutions for smart parking and fleet management and how to improve lives.
These enterprise solutions can become the "new blue ocean" for telecommunications operators.
Stop, park, open the gate, step on the oil.
In the past, drivers usually have to go through these steps when entering and exiting the parking lot, which takes a long time. However, during holidays or busy periods, the long queue of cars will inevitably make people annoying.
The smart parking solution designed by Hedian was implemented last year and has now been applied in several shopping malls and office buildings.
According to Gu Xinghui, the main plan is "insensible entry and exit." When the vehicle arrives at the gate, the high-definition camera recognizes the registered license plate number through image recognition, and automatically opens and closes the gate. "Our solution can achieve speed. After slowing down, in the case of incomplete stopping, there has been enough time to use image recognition technology to identify the license plate number and release, without stopping.”
Improved user experience helps people flow in shopping malls
How convenient is the plan?
Gu Xinghui believes that it is possible to save the time for parking cards to enter the gate. Because some car owners are not proficient in parking, in terms of charging, car owners can register and bind a credit card through an app or website, and pay automatically when leaving the gate, which is also convenient The car owner will check the records in the future. At the same time, the parking concession can also be processed electronically, so as to avoid the car owner having to go back and forth when registering for the parking concession.
In terms of commercial benefits, he said that in addition to manpower reduction, it is more important to improve the user experience. "Easy to use, fast parking, everyone wants to enter Libo, there will be competition between parking lots" to improve the efficiency of entering and exiting vehicles. , Can reduce the time of traffic obstruction, make people flow faster, and indirectly help shopping malls or buildings to increase the number of people.
The smart parking lot in the market covers functions such as parking space reservation, parking lot navigation, parking vehicle positioning, etc. Gu Xinghui said that the technology itself is not difficult, and ground sensors are installed in each parking space to detect whether the parking space is occupied, and the data is transmitted to the server After that, the owner will know the real-time situation.
He said that the group currently has this technology, such as being applied in a parking lot on Hong Kong Island.
The second stage: big data analysis
"The non-sense entry and exit plan of the parking lot is only the first stage. When a certain amount of data is collected, the big data analysis solution can be entered in the second stage." Gu Xinghui said that these data do not belong to the telecommunications company, but belong to the owner. , The owner can know the peak time of the vehicle, the type of vehicle, and even through the assistance of 3HK mobile data, can know the area where the visitor’s vehicle is coming from.
For example, some big shopping malls will arrange shuttle buses to and from the subway station. These big data can help them improve their planning and even promote activities.
The responsibility of the group's solution team is to assist the owners in researching how to design plans after listening to the opinions and "pain points" of the owners.
Fleet management solutions help reduce road accident rates
Gu Xinghui gave another example of a smart travel plan, a fleet management plan suitable for cross-border fleets, bus companies, etc.
He said that the main technology of the solution is to install sensors or lenses on the bus to analyze whether the vehicle is speeding or deviating from the route by taking pictures of the road surface. At the same time, it can monitor the frequency of the driver's acceleration and braking, and analyze his driving attitude and conditions. The bus company manages the drivers. The drivers know this method and pay more attention to strict discipline to reduce the accident rate on the road.
This solution can also bring economic benefits to the bus company, as the accident rate is reduced, which can indirectly reduce insurance costs.
In the same way, this scheme can also produce "by-products," Gu Xinghui said: "There are cases overseas. For example, there is a traffic black spot at an intersection, and government departments have to arrange for manpower to stand at the intersection and take photo measurements without having physical data. If the image data collected through the lens of the fleet can provide data to help the Transport Department improve the road design."
However, operators are not always "the best" in terms of technology. 3HK launched the "3 Smart City" plan earlier, aiming to build an IoT ecosystem with start-ups and scientific research professionals.
Gu Xinghui said that the operator has a cross-departmental task force, including technical personnel, sales, IT, network, and marketing. "The R&D (R&D) that is not strong is left to scientific research institutions. These institutions lack brands and products. Market-oriented experience, through the promotion of the group's sales team, can complement each other."
Hedian Hong Kong Chief Executive Officer Gu Xinghui said that 3HK's "3 Smart City" plan will build an IoT ecosystem with start-ups and scientific research professionals.
(Provided by interviewee)
Enterprise solutions revenue doubled in the first half of the year
Since the beginning of the year, the epidemic has raged and companies have suffered terribly, but the demand for online and automation has benefited telecommunications operators that provide corporate solutions.
Gu Xinghui revealed that Hedian's corporate solutions-related revenue doubled in the first half of the year, and he believed that there is much room for development in different industries and scenarios.
However, he said that "there are too many possibilities, and it is not possible to do everything." Therefore, the group will focus on several aspects, backing on vertical applications with long and strong advantages, such as retail, property management, and terminals.
This software-based and online solution is actually similar to a SaaS (software as a service) solution company. This type of company has been enthusiastically sought after by the capital market in recent years because the software subscription system can bring stable cash flow and profit to the company High transparency, in line with the epidemic to accelerate online behavior, and improve the performance of related stocks.
Gu Xinghui agrees that the group's enterprise solutions are similar to cloud-based application models such as SaaS.
For example, there are also plans to integrate different technologies and charge in the form of monthly fees, which are used to reduce IT capital expenditures of individuals or enterprises.
However, he added that the group has a further advantage in the 2B market. Since many start-ups have to "burn money" to establish relationships, the group does not need to establish sales networks, online and offline sales channels, etc., and will soon be able to put products out of the market in disguise. , Promote to potential customers, and the operator has customer mobile data, easy to achieve customer precision marketing.
Hedian reduced its earnings by 22% in the first half of the year and reduced its interim interest rate by 22%
Hedian Hong Kong Gu Xinghui: Uncertainty in the tourism industry affects roaming data revenue in the next few months
Hedian Hong Kong earned 6% more last year and paid 3.75 sen final dividend
Hutchison Telecom Gu Xinghui Economic Staff Visits Smart City