Roaming charges will be history by Sept

Three major telecom operators' logos on a smartphone. [Photo/VCG]

China's three major telecom operators will remove roaming fees for mobile phone users from September 1, a month ahead of the deadline set by the State Council, it was reported on Thursday.

On Thursday, China Telecom announced the move which also includes removing long-distance call charges, China National Radio reported.

That's expected to benefit 80 million users.

The People's Daily reported that China Unicom and China Mobile had also announced on Thursday they would cancel domestic roaming fees from September.

China Telecom chairman Yang Jie said they will also remove long-distance call charges and lower dedicated internet access charges which is expected to benefit 12.3 million small and medium enterprises.

Customers who use international, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan services will also pay less.

Premier Li Keqiang announced on March 5 the phase out of the long practice of charging for domestic roaming and long-distance calls as part of government's move to build a stronger internet industry.

At a policy briefing of the State Council Information Office on March 6, China's top three telecom companies announced that they will cancel charges on domestic long-distance mobile phone calls and roaming starting on Oct 1 this year.

Tan Xinyu contributed to the story