China Telecom is providing a free satellite service to its customers in China for one year. However, the list of smartphones eligible for the service is currently limited to eight models.
China Telecom started announcing its free service to its customers in China via SMS messages. Customers who are interested in trying it can reply to the message through a code to activate the free trial. It is important to note, however, that the free trial is only limited to calls and does not include China Telecom’s satellite text messaging.
After the period, users have to manually deactivate the service via text again. The standard rate for the service is CN¥10 per month, but China Telecom also offers it on a per-minute basis: CN¥200 for 50 minutes, CN¥300 for 100 minutes, and CN¥500 for 200 minutes of satellite calls.
The company currently offers its standard satellite call service in China for CN¥9 per month. Nonetheless, the free trial will give users 2 minutes of free satellite calls each month, which they can use for emergencies when they are in areas without mobile connectivity.
Currently, the company has only notified users from brands like Huawei, Honor, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo in China. Also, the list of devices capable of satellite messaging and calls is currently limited. Nonetheless, it could soon expand as more smartphone manufacturers prepare more flagship models equipped with satellite capabilities.
Here are the models currently eligible for China Telecom’s one-year free satellite service in China:
- Huawei Pura 70 Ultra
- Huawei Pura 70 Pro+
- Huawei Mate 60 Pro
- Honor Magic 6 Ultimate
- Honor Magic 6 Pro
- Xiaomi 14 Ultra
- OPPO Find X7 Ultra
- Vivo X100 Ultra
