SmarTone Telecommunications Holdings has cut its international roaming charges by as much as 77 per cent in a bid to lure mobile phone users.
Douglas Li, chief executive of Hong Kong's third-largest mobile carrier, also said on Monday that the company would open up automatic international roaming services to customers without registration or deposits.
The plan would include the return of HK$100 million in deposits that SmarTone had collected from customers, he said. 'We are proactively contacting our clients to return their deposits.'
Most of Hong Kong's mobile carriers require users to register for roaming services and put down deposits for international calls ranging from HK$1,000 to HK$3,000 if they settle their bills in cash.
However, most carriers have waived the deposit requirement if customers pay their bills by credit card.
As part of its plan, SmarTone will launch a new service - *131*PhoneHome - which allows customers to make international long distance calls at a substantial discount to regular international direct dial (IDD) prices.