Roaming fees to be cut around Beijing region

Roaming fees will be ditched for long-distance mobile calls around the Beijing region.

According to a report from China National Radio on Monday, starting from Aug 1, telecom carriers in China will cancel roaming fees between Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province for cross-district phone calls.

The plan is part of efforts to promote the integrated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. In February, President Xi Jinxing called for the coordinated development of the region around Beijing to build a trilateral economic sphere in the Bohai Bay area.

Under the initiative, Beijing, along with Tianjin municipality and Hebei will cooperate in logistics, tourism and environmental protection. Last week, Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei also promised to work together to improve the air quality for the September military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

CNR said the "Big Three" – China Mobile Communications Corp, China United Network Communications Ltd and China Telecommunications Corp – have already submitted detailed plans to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for approval.

Experts said the decision to cancel roaming fees for mobile calls between the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region could significantly reduce revenue for telecom carriers.