China's big three state owned operators have announced plans to put an end to domestic roaming and national long distance call charges from September 1, a month ahead of schedule.
The operators will abolish the current 0.6 yuan ($0.09) to 0.8 yuan roaming charges as well as in-country long-distance charges to reflect the industry's growing focus on data services, Xinhuareported.
The operators also reportedly plan to reduce dedicated internet access charges to help benefit 12.3 million SMEs across the country.
In March, Premier Li Keqiang announced a policy of phasing out the charges as part of the government's telecommunications sector reforms.
State-owned operators China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom subsequently announced plans to abolish roaming and long distance charges by October.
As part of the reforms China is also exploring opening the nation's telecommunications sector up to private investment, with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recently approving a mixed ownership pilot program involving China Unicom.