Roaming charges are expected to fall after China Mobile Hong Kong launches a cross-border data sharing service next week, which will make it cheaper to access services locked behind Beijing's internet firewall.
China Mobile, the second operator to offer 4G services after CSL, will intensify competition among next generation mobile-phone services in Hong Kong as subscribers to its 4G service can get cheaper access to news portals or social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, which are banned on the mainland.
Although existing roaming services can still overcome the firewall, users face steep charges. Many Hong Kong mobile users tend to switch off their data roaming option and use Wi-fi services offered by mainland operators, but this risks attracting official surveillance.
China Mobile had lowered the costs for internet users wanting to keep the flexibility and ease of using their Hong Kong mobile service on the mainland, said Tiger Lin Zhenhui, the chairman of the company, yesterday.
China Mobile has also cut roaming charges on voice services between the mainland and Hong Kong to 65 HK cents per minute, from at least HK$7. The cut takes effect on April 25, when the new 4G roaming service is launched.
The company is targeting the 500,000 frequent travellers between Hong Kong and the mainland. It already claims more than 20 per cent of the Hong Kong market.
However, China Mobile said it would enable customers to use its mainland parent's 2.75G network, easing data transmission, which can be slower when accessed with a more advanced 3G mobile phone.