China Mobile Lowers Its Int'l Roaming Fee

　　China Mobile lowers its international roaming fee starting July 1st. [Photo: xinmin.cn]

 

　　China Mobile lowers its international roaming fee starting July 1st. In the meantime, the company provides low volume flow package products specifically for people who frequently visit certain countries. Li Dong has the details.

 

　　China Mobile has announced that it will charge no more than 3 yuan or 0.49 US cents per minute for all its international roaming fees in the 242 countries and regions where it runs services.

 

　　The carrier, which has 730 million mobile subscribers, said that it is cutting roaming charges in 62 countries, including Canada, Russia and Myanmar.

 

　　According to China Mobile, clients in Singapore will now pay 0.99 yuan a minute to call the Chinese mainland, a 75 percent decrease from the previous 3.99 yuan a minute. Data traffic fees in 63 countries were cut by 50 percent to 5 yuan a megabyte.

 

　　In general, under the new price adjustment policy, the fee for CMCC users making calls overseas will be no more than 3 yuan per minute.

 

　　Regarding the data flow volume roaming fee, Lu Wenchang, deputy general manager of the market operating department of China Mobile says they have made new products tailored for the 63 countries and regions most favored by mainland Chinese consumers, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, the US and Japan.

 

　　"The 18 yuan flow package user can use 5 megabytes of flow everyday. We made some tests on the flow volume package service. This package can provide 2 to 3 hours of internet use when our clients are at these countries and regions."

 

　　Xing Hongtao, vice¹ manager of market price administration of China Mobile says that the lowering of the price of roaming is in line with market demand.

 

　　"There are more and more Chinese people going overseas. Firstly, in 2012, more than 83 million Chinese traveled overseas, showing a growth of 18.4 percent compare to 2011. Secondly², the number of students going abroad to study in 2012 reached 1.55 million, a rise of 8.39 percent compare to 2012. Plus, in 2012, the number of people gong abroad to work also rose by 3.66 percent compared to the same period last year. So, in general, Chinese people are more and more connected with the international community in terms of going abroad."

 

　　China Mobile lowered international roaming fees for the ninth time since 2010 in the hope of maintaining a high level of user loyalty³ amid increasingly intense domestic competition.

 

　　China Mobile says it was able to negotiate less expensive roaming deals for its users with international operators because of the increasing number of Chinese people going abroad.

 

　　For CRI, I am Li Dong.

 

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

3 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。