Telecom carriers to end domestic long-distance, roaming charges from Oct

A mobile phone user walks past a logo of China Mobile's 4G service in Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo/China Daily]

The country's three telecom carriers, China Mobile Communications, China United Network Communications Group and China Telecommunications Corp, announced steps to scrap domestic long-distance and roaming charges from October 1, 2017, a move to drive forward industrial transformation and boast the upgrading and adjustment of real economy.

Li Yue, president of China Mobile, the country's largest telecom operator said the domestic roaming charges account for 8 to 10 percent of its total revenue, removal of such fees will have an influence on the company, adding this will encourage China Mobile to improve operation and management efficiency.

China Unicom said it will increase the coverage of broadband access, develop innovative applications, and upgrade products and services in response to the initiative of "increasing broadband access speed and reducing tariff" by the authority.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) will push forward the initiative with more effective measures.

"We will strive to remove completely the domestic long-distance and roaming tariffs for mobile users, greatly reduce the tariff for international long-distance call and dedicated internet access price for small- and medium-sized enterprises," said Chen Zhaoxiong, vice-minister of industry and information technology.

The ministry will make efforts to regulate the tariff-setting behaviors of enterprises, promote healthy market competition and continue to improve market environment of telecommunications.