Wen Ku, a bureau chief at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, speaks at a press conference on Thursday. (Screen grab/Chinanews.com)
(ECNS) -- The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has said it runs against market principles for the government to ban roaming charges on cell phone access.
At a press conference, officials from the ministry said great changes took place from 1994 to 2014 in the overall administration of telephone and data services in China through an increasing role for the market and less government interference.
The government can't ask telecom carriers to simply drop and cancel roaming charges because the issue is related to technical progress and market competition, it was said.
An official also stated that the public should be aware that roaming charges are just part of telecommunication costs and should not to be singled out in promoting a market economy-based pricing system.
Telecom carriers have cancelled roaming fees between Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province for cross-district phone calls as part of efforts to promote integrated development in these regions. The move bolstered public expectations for roaming fees to be lifted in more areas.
