Individual Telecommunications Tariffs in Chinese Communities: History as a Mirror of the Future, and Relevance for Mobile Service Development in China

This paper addresses the mobile service pricing and affordability issues in China. Taking history as a mirror, it shows individual tariffs existed at the dawn of telephony. A vision of future mobile services with individual tariffs are formalized which will suit specially well the culture of communities rooted in Chinese traditions. An analysis of current tariff conditions in China, and of technologies developments worldwide, shows community-based indiviudal tariifs will speed up the diffusion of moible services to the majority of populations and benefit both economically and sociologically the development in China.