BEIJING -- It's World Telecommunications Day which this year also marks the 150th anniversary of the International Telecommunications Union.But here in China, our three biggest telecoms carriers are under fire, over high charges.
China's mobile internet charges - that's 3G and soon to be 4G services - are comparatively high and Premier Li Keqianghas consistently been calling on service providers to lower costs and boost speeds.
Li recently said the high charges were "preventing people from utilizing the benefits of mobile internet."
The Chinese government recently announced it would ensure 100 percent internet access country-wide by 2017, including 4G coverage, even in the most remote rural areas.
China's three big telecoms giants, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, have begun offering discount plans, including things like lower tariffs for night-time surfing.
But many users have been critical, and say the discounts lack sincerity, and are ill-designed.
China has around 570 million mobile internet subscribers - just under half the population - and they're paying on average 100 yuan per gigabyte of date - that's around 16 U.S. dollars almost twice the price of the U.S. and Japan.
