At the April 19 regular briefing on policies of the State Council hosted by the State Council Information Office, Liu Yulin, Head of Information and Communication Development, MIIT, noted MIIT has attached great significance to reduction of communication roaming charges in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Concrete actions include teaming up with Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council to hold talks on relevant matters with HK and Macao counterparts, convening special conferences on promoting implementation of work related to facilitating faster and more affordable Internet connection and inviting three primary telecom carriers to sessions on lowering roaming charges in the Greater Bay Area at faster pace.
All the effort is rewarding. Satisfactory progress has been made in cutting roaming charges in the Greater Bay Area, he said. HK and Macao roaming charges decreased 30% and 10% on a YoY basis in 2019 and 2020 respectively, attributable to unified rates for the Greater Bay Area with availability of voice and data services therein. Double-number-on-one-SIM, limitless data plan, Greater Bay Area frequency-based plan and other privileged programs unveiled one after another are widely accepted and embraced by subscribers.
Mr. Liu said, MIIT's next plan is to take additional tangible moves to lower roaming charges in the Greater Bay Area. One, continue to expand coverage of subscribers with continuous effort by fully leveraging policies in force. Two, optimize and improve relevant procedures for better business convenience. Three, constantly tighten communication and accordingly arrive at a consensus.