Chai Baocheng, a deputy to the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, says that charging monthly fees for fixed telephones is a monopolization of the communications industry and he suggests that the fee should soon be canceled.

Chai says that with the maturity of China's fixed phone development, monthly fees for fixed phones is no longer necessary. He believes that by charging a monthly rent, the operators are actually harming the consumers' rights in fair trading. Therefore, he suggests that the fee be canceled to protect the public interest.

Chai's proposal is echoed by Gui Yeli, another deputy to CPPCC, who believes that an audit should be conducted to decide whether the monthly rental fee for fixed phones should be canceled or reduced gradually.

Since the monthly rental fee has accounted for a big part of some rural consumers' communications fees, many of them have stopped using the fixed phones and turned to cheaper alternatives like mobile phones or Little Smart PHS devices.