China Mobile officially cuts international roaming charges from tomorrow

China Mobile announced yesterday that it will simplify the international roaming charging system. According to the new tariff standard, when subscribers roam to 8 countries or regions such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, and the United States, the calling party and the called party will be 0.99 yuan per minute. In 27 countries or regions such as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, the main call was 1.99 yuan per minute; when it reached 145 countries or regions such as Japan, Brazil, India, and the Philippines, the main call was 2.99 yuan per minute.

Currently, international roaming tariffs of global telecommunication operators are generally determined based on the settlement costs with overseas operators, and have two major characteristics. First, the pricing is complex. For example, international roaming tariffs provided by operators in the United Kingdom and Japan, different countries have different tariffs, and the tariffs of different operators in the same country may also be different. Second, the high prices, such as the United States operator's international roaming tariffs are generally not less than 6.1 yuan per minute equivalent to RMB, the Japanese operator's international roaming tariffs up to RMB 61 per minute.

Due to its own different conditions, China's three major operators are "back-to-back" each to negotiate roaming tariffs with international operators. According to Lu Wenchang, deputy general manager of the China Mobile Marketing Department, China Mobile’s previous international and Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan roaming tariffs are divided into 21 tariff areas. The tariff differences between different countries or regions are relatively large, ranging from a few yuan to several tens of yuan. Coupled with the different operators, often "a price in the elevator, another price out of the elevator." China Mobile has established an international company for this purpose, strengthened negotiations on overseas settlements, and innovated the international roaming tariff pricing model, which changed the status of high international roaming charges. According to static estimates, the international roaming tariff drops by as much as 46%.

According to Lu Wenchang, in July this year, China Mobile will introduce more favorable voice and data roaming tariff standards to more countries. "China Mobile has 700 million subscribers and has secured its position as the world's largest telecommunications operator. The number of business visits in 2012 reached 20.59 million, which will undoubtedly increase the weight of our negotiations."