Are you doing business in China? Or you are planning to set-up a business in the second-largest economy of the world? But you are struggling to make your company available to all consumers of this enormous country with a rapidly growing middle-class? Many international businesses have faced this challenge before and finally there is a solution: the China 4001 telephone services. These numbers, starting with a 400 1 prefix, are accessible all over China from both landlines and mobile devices. With this new service you can expand your international telephone services to connect your global business to local people in China.
Until recently, telecom service providers could offer only one nationwide business phone service for China, the so-called 10 800 toll-free number. However, using a 10 800 toll-free number in China in fact means installing two different toll-free numbers; one for the north of China and one for the south. Moreover, a China 10 800 toll-free number cannot be called from mobile devices, and is only available via international direct dial enabled land lines. In a country that, since March 2012, has over a billion mobile subscribers this can be called impractical at the very least.
For this reason, Chinese telecom providers have come up with a new type of special telephone service with nationwide coverage, the China 4001 shared-cost phone number. This number, with the format 400-1-ABCDEF is accessible from both landlines and mobile devices, including even those which are not international direct dial enabled. The service is also available for subscribers of foreign carriers while roaming in China. Thereby, the new China 4001 shared-cost service supports well businesses that want to be available to all their (potential) customers or employees throughout China.
Since the China 4001 numbers are generally presented as an alternative to the toll-free 10 800 numbers, some confusion has arisen among both subscribers and end-users as to the rates that apply to calling these numbers. As opposed to the 10 800 number, the China 4001 numbers are not toll-free, callers will be charged at the local call rate. Even so, since these 4001 numbers are accessible from both landlines and mobile devices and can be called from all over China, they present a very viable alternative to the 10 800 numbers.
Considering the fact that China is expected to be the world’s leading economy in 2017 and will count over 200 million middle-class households in 2020, installing a 4001 telephone number in China can be seen as an investment in a very profitable future.