BEIJING - China'a largest telecom provider, China Mobile, announced on Friday that it will lower charges for its 4G plans by as much as 50 percent, in response to wide criticism of its high data fees.

The company's 4G subscribers can enjoy 2 GB of LTE data for 70 yuan (11.35 US dollars) per month, double the data volume of the previous plan, said China Mobile chairman Xi Guohua.

The new pricing will take effect on Sunday.

Its previous 4G plans aroused scorn in cyberspace as soon as the pricing was announced in January. Its network was also criticized for weak signals and limited coverage.

In April, China Mobile saw the number of its new 4G users increase by 2 million to nearly 5 million -- still a tiny number compared to the company's 785 million mobile users in total.

Xi said the company will step up the promotion of its 4G services, through means such as strengthening the network.

China Mobile was the first to launch 4G services in China, ahead of the country's other two telecom giants, China Unicom and China Telecom.