The average rates paid by mobile phone subscribers fell by 20 per cent last year, according to a report issued by the Ministry of Information Industry's general planning department. Intense competition and the growing use of discounting plans and internet calling cards has had a big impact on the revenue of mobile operators, despite the fact that formal charges for mobile phone services did not change.
The number of mobile phone users in 2002 increased by 42 per cent over the previous year to stand at 206.6m, although the operators' combined revenues grew by just 16 per cent to YnYn192.4bn. Many of the 61.4m new customers signed up last year were lower-end subscribers who tend to use their mobile phones less.
You must log in to post a comment.