Canceling roaming charges responds to leadership's call

THE THREE DOMESTIC telecom giants, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, have announced that, starting July 1, they will cancel their data roaming fees within the country, except for the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan. Beijing News comments:

Roaming fees refer to the higher charges users pay when they travel outside the province where they live. For long, that practice has aroused fierce criticism from the public.

This year marks a turning point because the Government Work Report, delivered by Premier Li Keqiang at the annual session of the National People's Congress, the nation's top legislature, said that the roaming fees should be canceled and the companies should reduce their mobile data charges by at least 30 percent. Echoing that call, the three telecom giants announced on Friday they would cancel the roaming fees starting on July 1. Reports say they have already finished adjustment of the rules and are working on tests as well as customer service training.