Is it Jio effect? China's telcos to end domestic roaming charge

Starting April 1, Bharti Airtel will abolish national roaming charges too

Taking a cue from India’s intense rate war in the telecom sector, China’s three mobile operators have decided to abolish domestic roaming charges.

“We are delighted that (our) GSMA’s call to bring an end to domestic roaming fees has received resounding support from the leading operators in China, largest telecom market in the world,” said Sunil Mittal, chairman, GSM Association.

China Telecommunications Corp, China Mobile Communications Corp and China United Network Communications Group will end inter-province roaming fees by October this year.

Mittal also chairman of India’s biggest mobile telecom company, Bharti Airtel, said the plan to eliminate domestic roaming fees would not only promote customer convenience by ending ‘bill shocks’ but help boost usage by customers. “We are sure operators in other countries will take the cue from China’s example,” he said.

A telecom price war was started here by Reliance Jio (RJio) at its launch last September. The newcomer has announced continuation of free voice calls on its network, forcing incumbents like Bharti Airtel to slash rates.

From April 1, RJio would start billing for its services. The company’s rate plans start from Rs 19 for prepaid users and Rs 149 for postpaid ones. As a part of the Jio Prime Membership, users will continue to get free voice calls, text messaging, and Jio’s bouquet of content services for the enrolled time period.

Starting April 1, Bharti Airtel will abolish national roaming charges and reduce international roaming charges by up to 90 per cent.  The national incoming roaming charge is presently 45p a minute. For outgoing calls, roaming charges will be removed.