SHANGHAI: China has announced a plan to slash the country's mobile roaming service charges by more than half from March 1, state media reported.

Under the plan, the country's 539 million mobile subscribers would be able to enjoy price cuts ranging from 54 per cent to 73 per cent, the Xinhua news agency reported late Wednesday.

The move came amid mounting public complaints about the telecom industry's monopoly position in setting service prices, with some consumers arguing the charges should have been scrapped entirely.

Mobile phone users would be charged 0.6 yuan (8.3 US cents) per minute for making calls outside their local service areas and 0.4 yuan per minute for receiving calls, Xinhua said.

The country's two handset operators -- China Mobile and China Unicom, will be given a grace period of two months until May 1 to adjust their charging system, according the plan by the Ministry of Information Industry and the National Development and Reform Commission.

The final plan "was acceptable, but was not up to expectations of consumers", Shen Changzheng, a consumer representative who attended the hearing on the new plan, was quoted as saying.

- AFP/ac