Beijing Mobile, part of China's largest mobile phone operator,
plans to dramatically slash its mobile call fees in early February
with a monthly package based on a one-way billing scheme.
The caller-pays scheme, in which incoming calls are free for the
person who receives the call, has been welcomed by China Mobile and
China Unicom subscribers in pilot areas in Guangdong, Shanghai and
Tianjin, allowing the companies to reinforce their position in the
market.
That has put the pressure on fixed-line operators China Telecom
and China Netcom to lower costs and improve services, China
Securities News reported Tuesday.
The best way to boost also-rans China Telecom and China Netcom
is to grant them 3G licenses, allowing them to get into the mobile
phone business and compete with rivals on an equal footing, the
newspaper quoted an unnamed analyst as saying.
This fits with government efforts to establish a new balance of
power among the nation's major telecom players, the analyst
said.
The newspaper said China Telecom is keen to get into the mobile
phone sector.
Latest figures show that there were nearly 70 million new mobile
phone subscribers in China last year, but only 17 million new
fixed-line phones.
(Xinhua News Agency January 31, 2007)