(Yicai Global) March 7 -- China's industry and information technology ministry (MIIT) will aid basic telecom companies in speeding up their service package adjustment, system development and transformation, and testing and verification, Chen Zhaoxiong, MIIT vice minister said yesterday, as state Xinhua News Agency reported on its official Weibo account.

The 2018 government work report urged efforts to increase internet speeds and reduce fees, expand free internet access in public places, abolish data service'roaming' fees, and lower mobile data service tariffs by at least 30 percent to ensure users enjoy this bonus before July 1.

The overall reduction in user data service fees also means that the three major telecom carriers will have to forego profits. Mobile data internet business revenue made up over 50 percent of the overall mobile communication business, and voice services, including fixed and mobile voice, continued to show a sharp decline, per the MIIT data. The three domestic major telecom operators formally responded to the government work report on March 5, saying MIIT will determine the specific timetable.

The level of tariffs will be down by more than 30 percent over last year by the end of this year, said Miao Wei, MIIT minister. Calculated based on the country's mobile data-flow average cost of CNY26 per gigabit (GB) last year determined by MIIT, the fee reduction of at least 30 percent means that the average tariff of mobile data-flow will fall to CNY18 (USD3) per GB.