Although the top four telecom operators are listed companies, their parents are all State-owned. As one-way charging could lead to a drop in revenue, reports of possible one-way charging have led to the stock of operators' listed arms being sold off.

The listed arms are being held hostage by investors. Whenever there was a large sell-off, regulators reiterated that one-way charging would not be allowed.

The change to mobile phone charges marks a major improvement in regulators' governance of the telecom industry. Protection of consumers' interests are becoming increasingly important, though they are still not given the same priority as protection of State-owned assets.

A government-set charging scheme could only create a protected monopoly or duopoly that hurts consumers' interests. And that would also hamper operators' willingness to open new revenue streams.

Monopoly or duopoly, in fact, also leads to a loss of State-owned assets as it hinders competition and results in inefficiency.

In that context, it's of little significance to argue whether one- or two-way charging should be adopted. As long as the costs of mobile calls continue to drop and become reasonable, consumers will not care much about whether it is a one- or two-way charge.

                                                                        (China Daily 01/30/2007 page13)

1

2

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)