China Unicom Announces 3G Packages
Sina Tech, 5/16/09
China Unicom announced its WCDMA 3G packages today, with 7 basic packages and 3 optional packages. The basic packages are priced between RMB 186 and RMB 1,686 per month, with 3G data fees to be charged based on three different content types: data, multimedia and text. From its WAP portal, China Unicom will charge for multimedia and text content by number of downloads, rather than by data size, with "M" denoting a multimedia download unit and "T" a text download unit. For example, if a user visits Unicom's 3G WAP portal and downloads a video or a song, he will be charged one M unit. If the user downloads an e-book, he will be charged one T unit.
For the basic packages, the RMB 186/month package will include 510 minutes of domestic voice calls, 20 minutes of video calls, and will provide 60 MB of data, 20 "M" of multimedia content and 40 "T" of text. The high-end RMB 1,686/month plan will have 7,000 minutes of domestic talk time, 300 minutes of video calls, 5GB of data, 200 "M" of multimedia and 250 "T" of text.
For users who don't choose a package, the basic monthly fee for China Unicom's 3G services is RMB 50. Basic outgoing voice calls will be charged at RMB 0.36 per minute, with incoming calls free. Basic video calls will be charged at RMB 0.9 per minute, with incoming calls free. Data will be charged at RMB 0.01/KB, with multimedia content charged at RMB 1 per "M" unit and text at RMB 0.2 per "T" unit.
In another report from Sohu IT, Xie Guoqing, general manager of China Unicom's Individual Customer Department, revealed that the 3G packages are aimed at trial users. During commercial trials, which will run from May 17 to August 31, Unicom will only charge users half price. The packages will be adjusted accordingly when China Unicom starts providing full commercial WCDMA services.
Keywords: 3G China Unicom package WAP WAP portal WCDMA wireless Xie Guoqing 0762.HK 600050.SH CHU tariffs mobile data WVAS
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