China Telecom scrapping domestic roaming fees from September

Domestic roaming charges for long-distance calls made via China Telecom are being scrapped from September 1, 2017, according to the company's chairman Yang Jie.

China Telecom [Photo: VCG]

Charges for internet access and international calls, including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, are to be reduced at the same time.

The move comes a month earlier than the deadline set by the State Council, China's chief administrative body.

The elimination of the charges is expected to benefit some 80 million China Telecom users.

The policy was revealed in the Government's 2017 Work Report by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in March at the 5th Session of the 12th National People's Congress.

China's top three telecom giants, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom all acknowledged the changes following Premier Li's speech.