State telecom firms to cut mobile data prices in China by 20-35%

China’s state-owned wireless carriers have announced cuts to their mobile data prices and plans to boost data speeds this year in response to government pressure to lower barriers for internet access, Reuters reported. China Mobile (0941.HKG, CHL.NYSE), the country’s biggest wireless carrier by subscribers, said it would slash mobile data prices by 35% or more per magabyte by year’s end; China Unicom (0762.HKG, CHU.NYSE) by 20% or more; China Telecom Corp (0728.HKG, CHA.NYSE) by 30% on average. The cuts could spur more subscribers in the world’s largest smartphone market to take advantage of 4G contracts.