Mobile firms to offer new data packages
Print Edition
The local branches of China’s top three mobile phone operators plan to offer new data traffic packages that can be used for three months after the phone giants came under criticism over their monthly data charges, which were deemed unfair and unreasonable.
It was a lawyer in Hunan Province who first brought the issue to light by filing a lawsuit against the Changsha branch of China Mobile. Liu argued that the company’s practice of clearing the remaining unused data at the end of each month without offering a refund or extending it to another month was unjustified.
Liu had bought an online surfing package for 20 yuan (US$3.22) which entitled him use of 150 megabytes per month from a China Mobile outlet in June. At the end of July he found he still had 92 megabytes left in the package, but was credited as zero in August by the company without informing him.
“I paid for the remaining data as well. This is unfair,” said Liu, who demanded a refund or reuse of the remaining data.
The case sparked debates, outcry and complaints from users nationwide.
In a recent survey, nearly 70 percent of respondents said the practice of monthly charge on cell phone data traffic was not reasonable, and should be stretched over a longer period.
The survey was carried out by the Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Commission, which spoke to 2,000 people over different age groups. About 54 percent of the respondents said it was not reasonable of the company to clear the data at the end of each month.
“I think there should be more options as I pay for the data and these operators should allow me to use up all the data,” said Wang Jiajia, a local resident who works in a bank.
The survey also found that low speed, high fees and unstable signal were the other irritants in the data traffic network.
Shanghai Telecom acted quickly and came up with a new data traffic card that can be used for 90 days. But it said there will not be any refunds or discounts and the data will expire after three months.
The package costs 10 yuan, 20 yuan and 30 yuan for 60, 150 and 300 megabytes, respectively.
Shanghai Mobile too said it planned to launch similar packages on a quarterly basis by the end of this year. Shanghai Unicom has also worked out a similar package, but gave no timetable over its implementation.
The three operators will also be urged to provide cheaper deals for extra data traffic use.
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