CRI听力:China Mobile Lowers 4G Service Fee

Reporter: China Mobile's fee adjustment comes as the domestic fourth-generation, or 4G smartphone market booms. According to a report by IHS Technology, a global market research company at the beginning of the year, China's domestic 4G smartphone market is set for an explosive growth in shipments this year.

Shipments of 4G smartphones within China are forecast to reach 72.4 million units, from just 4.6 million last year, with the market expected to take off in the second half of the year.

Wang Xuehong, board chairman of Taiwan-based mobile phone manufacturer, HTC, says building brand credibility is the key for the future development of China's 4G smartphone manufacturers.

"How to exert their imagination and innovation to the maximum and avoid simply duplicating other companies' products is what many domestic enterprises should consider. Only by doing this, could the country and the industry step forward."

So far, more than four million clients from about 200 cities have used China Mobile's 4G service. And China Mobile will start to lower prices of its 4G mobile phone network services next month to attract more users. The country's largest mobile telecommunications provider will launch a 30-yuan service for 500 megabytes of data. Certain new packages will be lowered to 58 yuan from 88 yuan.

Xing Hongtao, vice manager of market price administration for China Mobile, says in general the data price will drop up to 50 percent in the new packages.

"This time, China Mobile's 4G service price adjustments only include the standardized data package products, like the monthly data package. We also have data service packages for customers who need long term service, like by a quarter or and half a year." In some new packages, 70 yuan will buy 2G data instead of 1G. In others, users can enjoy two to six times more data at the same price as a previous package. The company also offers a service that allows a user to share his package data with up to four relatives or friends.

Cui Zheng, a scholar from Beijing Technology and Business University, says China Mobile's move to lower its 4G service fee is a good move for consumers, but the technical support of the 4G service should also be ensured.

"Consumers should be guaranteed that they can use China Mobile's quality 4G service at anytime, anywhere. For instance, the 4G service may be good at Tiananmen Square, but the signal becomes weak at the Great Wall. What if I really need to use 4G to send a picture at the Great Wall? The after-service should follow up."

The China Mobile's announcement was the first response given to the government's decision to grant telecom operators full pricing autonomy. Last week, authorities freed up telecom fees, allowing all operators in the sector to make pricing decisions on their own as long as the charges abide by law and regulations.

For CRI, I am Li Dong.