China Telecom customers who join one of its three promotional packages will not be charged when answering phones in 31 provinces and municipalities nationwide from October 1, the company announced on September 22, Chinanews.com reported.

Analysts pointed out the new rules mean that China Telecom, one of the three telecom carriers in China, has effectively cancelled mobile roaming service fees.

Before the new policy was released, China Telecom did not charge for accepting calls within the city where a customer buys the services package, but when the customer travels to other cities and provinces, extra fees will be added to the bill, the report said.

An anonymous China Telecom official said the company has spent half a year upgrading and integrating the China Telecom network. They will also soon launch more than 70 different 1,000-yuan ($146.48) 3G mobile phones to complement the promotional packages, according to Chinanews.com.

A source said China Unicom, another telecom carrier, will adopt similar policies, canceling roaming services fees and call acceptance charges within their network.

(Chinadaily.com.cn September 23, 2009)