Cut Price Led to Increased Telephone Consumers in China ����China has adopted a policy for reduced charges on fixed and mobile phones since March this year. This policy has very much helped in tapping the market potential of China in developing its communications and the effort for an expansion of domestic demand. It is estimated that 10.5 million telephone sets for a worth of 10 billion yuan have been installed by the country's customers from March to June. ����The price set for a fixed telephone has been cut from 1010 yuan to 725 yuan, or a 28.2% drop from the past. From March to June this year, the number of fixed phone sets has increased by 6.07 million to show a growth of 22% over the same period last year. As is represented by a 10% and 29% growth in ten provincial capital cities and Beijing respectively, a rising percentage in the number of telephone users applying for the second phone has been noted throughout China. ����A 37.5% cut has been made in the charge for a mobile phone, from 800 yuan to 500 yuan. The number of new mobile phone users reached over 4.43 million consumers from March to June this year to show a 41% increase over the same period of last year. Economicnews 1999-08-13 Page2 Full Story in Chinese