China's popular mobile app may be charging

Wechat, an instant messaging application on smart phones, has taken China by storm. It was developed by dotcom giant Tencent and now has over 300 million users.

That means 7 out of 10 mobile internet users are using it across the country. But its surging popularity has come much to the dismay of China's telecom operators.

It's not a walkie-talkie, but a smart phone with an amazingly popular app called Wechat.

"We can know what's going on at any time. If someone lags behind, Wechat can help me get in touch with them. And there's no roaming fee. "

Others dig its video chat function - a great money saver for Chinese students studying overseas.

"It's now very convenient to talk to parents on Wechat. There's no fees for international calls. And you can talk whenever you want."

Wechat is free, a major reason for its popularity. But, China's TELCOs seem to be bearing the cost.

According to a report by China's top telecom watchdog, this year, two key cash cows of China's three telecom carriers-- short messages and voice calling services are seeing much slower growth.

And the largest carrier, China Mobile has launched its first wave of attack.

Xi Guohua, vice chairman of China Mobile Comm. Corp., said, "There is no doubt that online messaging applications have been riding on the services provided by traditional telecom carriers. This mode of operation can't be sustained if it's all free. As to the details of a potential payment scheme, we are still doing research on that."

What the telecoms are not pleased with is that Tencent is using their resources to compete against them. For them, more Wechat users mean they have to shell out more money to broaden internet bandwidth. And now they want the money back.

But the founder of Tencent tells an opposite story.

Ma Huateng, chairman of the board of Tecent, Inc., said, "First, what you've heard is a just rumor. There's no such plan to charge fees. Second, our relationship with carriers should be more cooperative. Because there is now more internet data and the focus of carriers is shifting from voice calling services to data."

And that is being backed by Wechat users.

"Because they already charge fees for 3G Internet and wifi. If they charge fees for Wechat, it's actually a double charge."

On China's internet, rumors about charging fees have sparked widespread backlash.

According to an online survey, almost 90 percent of the users say they will just drop Wechat if they have to pay.

Wechat or We charge? This is a question puzzling the new tech smart generation in China.