China to slash mobile roaming charges -Xinhua

BEIJING, Feb 13 (Reuters) - China will lower domestic mobile roaming charges from the start of March, cutting prices for users by more than 50 percent, Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.

Mobile phone users would be charged 0.6 yuan ($0.0835) per minute for making calls and 0.4 yuan for receiving calls outside their local service area, according to a new plan outlined by the Ministry of Information Industry and the National Development and Reform Commission, Xinhua reported.

Cuts to roaming charges for the country's 539 million mobile subscribers would range from 54 to 73 percent, Xinhua said.

Analysts have mixed views about whether a cut in roaming charges would affect earnings growth for China's two mobile operators, China Mobile (0941.HK: Quote, Profile, Research) and China Unicom (0762.HK: Quote, Profile, Research).

Xinhua reported that service providers would be given a grace period until May 1 to lower prices as they modify their charging systems.

The new pricing rules address long-standing complaints from users, though some consumer representatives were disappointed that roaming charges were not abolished entirely, Xinhua added. (Reporting by Simon Rabinovitch; Editing by Paul Bolding)