Chinese telephones and mobiles

Chinese telephones and mobiles check list

Most Chinese S&E businesses office desk telephones are on longer used. Most S&M business use mobiles.

Its large companies still use desk telephone system.

The mobile calls are increasingly made over social media e.g. WeChat. This is supported by good internet connection and local Wi-Fi. International internet can slow down during peak loading.

This can create issues with the Chinese email addresses and mobile / telephone numbers. You often cannot validate which company a person works for using the telephone or email address.

Historical many old buildings have telephone systems already installed. If renting Chinese office, we recommend making sure you have good understanding of any commitment to using the building telephone systems and costs for installing / using an internet connection. The Chinese commercial buildings often have rights to supply telephone services.

Voice over IP (VOIP) is popular and cost effective in China.  Chinese VOIP often will allow calls to and from overseas, mobiles, etc. While an overseas VOIP systems sometime work in China. Dur international internet for inbound traffic running erratically. The connection will work well one day and then poorly for the next week.

There are many telephone support services available in China. These include;

• Telephone translation support – call centre to help translation for your business or when you are traveling
• Customer support – first line support for your customers
• Sales lines
• Reception services
• Almost all the service you can purchase overseas can be found in China

We recommend that you review your telecoms requirements in China directly with China Telecom or China Unicom.

China Mobile services

Chinese mobile services are leading the world in quantity, coverage and usage.

Most people have a modern mobile, many of them local Chinese brands.

Most offices, shops, hotels, restaurants, etc, have Wi-Fi which you can log into with your social media account or by text message.

The costs for using internet is very cheaper, approximately $0.50 GB.

Many shops, hotels, restaurants, etc, will offer promotions if you share your telephone number or social media account. The must effective marketing in China is by social media and text messages.

Using an Overseas mobile in China

Having internet access in China on your mobile is useful, both for travel information and help when you do not understand something. A lot of China people are keen to help and are very friendly. Having the support of the internet will help with translation, maps, etc.

Using an overseas SIM card is not recommended. It can be very costly depending on terms of your overseas mobile company.

We recommend you invest in an international SIM card that allows low rates in China for data and international telephone calls. You can them forward your overseas telephone to your international SIM card while you are in China.  

Web page last modified: August 2018