Chinese telecom operator China Telecom has announced that it will merge its family customer department and individual customer department into a new public customer department, and will set up a new customer service department.

This has reportedly been the first major sales-oriented structural adjustment inside China Telecom since the restructuring of China's telecom industry began earlier this year.

Zhang Xin, former general manager for China Telecom's family customer department, will be general manager of the new public customer department; and Zhang Mingtian, former general manager for China Telecom's individual customer department, will be general manager of the newly established customer service department.

A related spokesperson from China Telecom told local media that the merger aims "to rationalize the relationship between the two departments from the mechanism level and to solve the conflict of competence".

China Telecom's family customer department and individual customer department were founded at the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008, respectively. The two departments, along with a corporate customer department, provide services to China Telecom's three major customer groups, including family broadband users, mobile phone users, and corporate users.