China's top telecommunications regulator yesterday unveiled two
sets of proposals in its bid to cut the high roaming fees on mobile
phones and set a price-hearing conference for January 22.
The plans will slash the fees by at least 0.20 yuan (2.7 US
cents) a minute, compared with the current roaming fee of 0.60 yuan
to 0.80 yuan a minute, according to a statement by the Ministry of
Information.
Chinese mobile carriers often charge users 0.60 yuan a minute as
a cross-province roaming fee, which most travelers and experts say
is too expensive.
In the proposals, the total fee of an out-of-town call will be
reduced to 0.30 to 1.10 yuan from current 0.60 to 1.50 yuan now,
which differs based on calling or receiving and whether using the
long-distance networks, according to MII.
Representatives of consumers, experts, mobile carriers and the
China Consumers' Association will be involved in the conference in
Beijing.
"It is unjustifiable that users are charged this high rate as
the cost for roaming is similar to email," said Kan Kaili, a
professor at Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications.
China is the only country in the world to charge user-roaming
fees in one network over different provinces, industry insiders
said.
The ministry conducted an online survey last May asking people
their thoughts on roaming charges. Respondents said the roaming fee
should be 0.05 yuan to 0.20 yuan higher per minute than a local
call, which is about 0.15 yuan in Shanghai.
Shanghai Mobile and Shanghai Unicom said they have launched
special packages for travelers; therefore the new roaming fee level
won't affect their revenue greatly.
(Shanghai Daily January 14, 2008)
