In response to a growing chorus of customer complaints, China Mobile Communications issued new rules on Friday that tighten its supervision over wireless service providers.Under the new guidelines, wireless service providers must offer China Mobile customers a one-month trial for all subscription services, including news, information, music, images and ringtone downloads, before charging users for them. In addition, services that are charged on a per-message basis must be converted to a monthly subscription. Previously, service providers were required to offer trial service periods ranging from three to 11 days and could charge for some services on a per-message basis.Service providers are not pleased with the new guidelines. “The impact will be negative and significant,” said Tom Online, warning its revenue could fall 15 percent because of the rule change.The rule change will lower Internet portal operator Sohu.com’s wireless-services revenue by US$1.5 million to $2.5 million per quarter during the second half of the year, the company said. “Although user subscriptions will likely be affected in the near term, the industry’s overall development should benefit in the longer term,” it said. China Mobile’s new guidelines for wireless service providers were issued in response to customer complaints, including allegations that service providers overbilled users. The financial impact on service providers is expected to be clear when companies report their third-quarter results later this year.-Sumner Lemon, IDG News Service (Beijing Bureau) Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Sponsored by AWS in collaboration with IBM How digital twin technology is changing complex industrial processes forever As the use cases for digital twins proliferate, it is becoming clear that data-driven enterprises with a track record of innovation stand the best chance of success. By Laura McEwan Dec 05, 2023 4 mins Digital Transformation brandpost Sponsored by AWS in collaboration with IBM Why modernising applications needs to be a ‘must’ for businesses seeking growth Around one-third of enterprises are spending heavily on application modernisation and aiming for cloud native status. The implications for corporate culture, structure and priorities will be profound. By Laura McEwan Dec 05, 2023 5 mins Digital Transformation opinion 11 ways to reduce your IT costs now Reorienting IT’s budget toward future opportunities is a big reason why CIOs should review their IT portfolios with an eye toward curbing unnecessary spending and realizing maximum value from every IT investment. By Stephanie Overby Dec 05, 2023 11 mins Budget Cloud Management IT Governance news analysis SAP faces breakdown in trust over innovation plans The company’s plan to offer future innovations in S/4HANA only to subscribers of its Rise with SAP offering is alienating customers, user conference hears. By Peter Sayer Dec 05, 2023 6 mins SAP Cloud Management Innovation Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe