(ECNS) -- China's three telecom carriers announced on Monday they will scrap charges for domestic roaming and long-distance calls starting Oct. 1, following Premier Li Keqiang's promise in a government work report. [Special coverage]
China Mobile said it would also reduce rates for international phone calls, particularly to 64 countries along the Belt and Road Initiative.
China Unicom promised to fully implement government plans to improve internet access speeds as well as reduce costs. The carrier also will expand the scope of its 4G network and double download speeds from 300Mbps to 600Mbps.
China Telecom said it will invest 100 billion yuan ($14.5 billion) to build a high-speed, intelligent network in 2017. It plans to accelerate the pace of building its mobile broadband network and a nationwide service for voice over LTE that could offer higher quality voice calls.
Rates for calls to North America, Europe, Southeast Asia and countries along the Belt and Road Initiative will be reduced this year. Small and medium-sized enterprises can also expect cost reductions for broadband services this year, according to China Telecom.
Mobile phone users now face potentially big bills for long-distance calls within China. Data roaming, or using mobile data in places other than where the phone is registered, also demands extra fees. Premier Li's announcement is among efforts for innovation in the Internet industry.
