MII Announces PAS Billing AdjustmentsThe Ministry of Information Industry (MII) has announced a new billing system for personal access system (PAS) services which charges PAS subscribers more than fixed-line phone users but less than mobile phone users.The new billing system offers two optional one-way charge methods: one at a base charge of 25 yuan (US$3) a month, the other at 35 yuan per month. The 25-yuan base system charges 0.2 yuan (2.4 US cents) per minute for dial-up calls, while the 35-yuan method collects charges 0.15 yuan (1.8 US cents) per minute. Different administrative regions (provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the jurisdiction of the central government) can choose either method according to local situations. PAS, a cordless local call system which provides similar services as mobile phones at lower prices, has been applied in more than 70 cities in China and warmly welcomed by consumers. The difference between PAS and mobile phone services is that the former only allows city-wide communications. According to a local newspaper, the price adjustment will cause a major setback for the newly-unveiled China Telecom, since the company pins hopes on the profitable PAS service to survive fierce competition before it obtains a mobile phone license. It will take at least five years for China Telecom to construct a mobile communications network the same scale as China Unicom's current network, even though it can get a license, said industry insiders. |
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