China Telecom focuses on Chinese in the US

An emerging player in the US mobile space is expanding its user base by tailoring its services to the Chinese population.

China Telecom Americas launched CTExcel - its US mobile service - last May, making the telecommunications giant the first Chinese mobile virtual-network operator in the US.

"After several months of work, we have established the foundation," said Feng Sun, director of mobile business for China Telecom Americas (CTA), based in Herndon, Virginia. "The growth rate is speeding up, and we are expecting a boom this year."

As China Telecom has become the "go-to" telecom service provider for companies that have business operations across China and the US, the company is pushing forward to penetrate the consumer market, said Joe Han, president of CTA.

Marketed as "Customized for Chinese", CTExcel offers four packages to US-based customers. For $45 a month, a user can make unlimited domestic calls and unlimited calls and texts to China. The package also includes 3 gigabits of 4G LTE data.

The economical rate is achieved by the technology of dual numbers, explained Sun. When buying a CTExcel SIM card in the US, a user also will be assigned a Chinese virtual number for calls forwarding between China and US.

"It also enables your family and friends in China to call you without worrying about the international fee because they are calling a Chinese number," Sun told China Daily. "This is our distinctive advantage compared to the American service providers. We have access to the Chinese numbers. They do not."

Soon the service will also work the other way around. When a US-based user goes to China, he will be able to get a Chinese SIM card that has the original US number assigned to it.

"When someone calls your American phone, you can pick up with your Chinese SIM card in China," he said. "The callers won't be able to know that you are actually in China."

There are four target groups for China Telecom's mobile services: the more than 4 million Chinese Americans; the 2 million Chinese tourists visiting the United States annually; the 300,000 Chinese students at US colleges; and the people who work at more than 1,500 Chinese enterprises in America.

Sun said that CTA has paired with student organizations at more than 100 US colleges. Starting with freshmen, the company hopes to gradually convert all Chinese students to China Telecom. A new student can get the mobile service for $1 for the first month.

Sun said the primary goal for CTA in 2016 is to expand in the Chinese-American community, and appeal to Chinese tourists during the China-US Tourism Year.

"We have customer service in both Chinese and English," he said. "This greatly helps travelers and immigrants who don't speak English."

CTExcel services can be purchased at more than 60 vendors in 10 major cities in the US, Sun said.

China Telecom also plans to step up its 4G and fixed-line broadband coverage in China, while deepening its foray into new internet-based businesses.

hezijiang@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily 06/17/2016 page2)