Getting broadband installed in China

[Irishman]

I read Willy's post in the official forum about getting it installed for 1200RMB upfront and was curious if anyone else has done this?

Ted, did you get a line installed in your apartment in GZ or was it already there?, how much is your line rental and broadband per month in GZ and what provider are you with?

Willy did that include line installation as well as line rental and broadband for the year?


Sunny doesnt have broadband installed in the apartment she shares with he friends and I'd love to be able to talk to her outside office hours and days off on webcam. If its only 1200RMB to get a line installed and rented for the year than thats what I will do and give her a laptop to chat to me with .

Any advice from on the ground over there?

[Paul Todd]

Hi Ronan,

I'm not much of a tech guy but here is what we have. Its with http://www.chinaunicom.com.hk/en/products/products_data_internet.html
Connection speed is 1meg and it costs:- 1 year  600rmb,  2 years  960rmb and 3 years 1260rmb
If you do not already have a phone line the installation cost is a whopping 240rmb.:icon_biggrin:

Here's the state of play at the moment:-

China Unicom is set to spread the downloading speed of higher than 2Mbps to more than 80% of its broadband users by the end of 2009, said an executive of the Chinese telecoms operator.  

With an investment of over CNY 10 billion, China Unicom is upgrading its broadband network presently, and plans to complete all its planned Fiber-to-the-x (FTTX) improvement projects within the two or three years to come, according to the executive.

In detail, the company will offer FTTB (building) plus WLAN services and plus FTTB plus DSL  services to new communities and old communities in many Chinese urban areas, respectively. Besides, it is set to cooperate with Internet companies to develop value-added services applicable to high-speed broadband, such as familial audiovisual applications, entertainment, and gaming.

By the end of this June, the number of China's broadband users had reached 320 million, accounting for 94.3% of the country's total netizens, up 3.7 percentage points year on year, according to the China Internet Network Information Center.

[Willy The Londoner]

Yes Irishman I had it fitted here in Zhongshan for an all in price of 1260 rmb.  Not sure if I have paid for one year or three as I cannot read the small print.  Come to think of it I cannot read the large print either!!!  

 I think the line was 960 rmb and the equipment was 300.   When logged on it tells me that I am on at 100 mbs whatever that it is.

But maybe at the end of the year I will find that I have to pay again but the price is good.  It is high speed and it only took two days to get it installed as the block I live in already had wiring built in when first built.  

I have just switched my browser to google chrome and that is working even faster than IE8.

Willy

[Chong]

We have Broadband Internet service with ChinaTel here in Kaiping. 80 RMB per month. No installation charge. Irish ... My Sunny will ask her friends in GZ how much they pay and with whom.

[Irishman]

Thanks guys.
Chong i'd appreciate that, my Sunny's apartment doesn't have a phone line so will need to get that fitted.

[Willy The Londoner]

When my broadband was fitted in Zhingshan I did not get a telephone.  When I got hooked up in Zhuhai I got a telephone as well but it only received incoming calls!!!

Willy

[Irishman]

When my broadband was fitted in Zhingshan I did not get a telephone.  When I got hooked up in Zhuhai I got a telephone as well but it only received incoming calls!!!

Willy

Willy you say that like its a bad thing!
I for one am relieved the temptation wont be there haha!

[Willy The Londoner]

When my broadband was fitted in Zhingshan I did not get a telephone.  When I got hooked up in Zhuhai I got a telephone as well but it only received incoming calls!!!

Willy

Willy you say that like its a bad thing!
I for one am relieved the temptation wont be there haha!

But I was living on my own at that time (with regular visitors  of course) but have you ever lived with a telephone thast can only ring but you cannot pick it up and ring others - it is very frustrating.

Willy

[Chong]

Thanks guys.
Chong i'd appreciate that, my Sunny's apartment doesn't have a phone line so will need to get that fitted.

Our home phone cost about 28 RMB per month [ not including long distance charges ]. So together with Internet the total cost is 108 RMB per month. It automatically comes out of Sunny's savings account. Some telephone company may charge based on usage amount.

FYI ... Our tv cable cost 180 RMB per year.

Sunny's friend in GZ pays 1,800 RMB per year with ChinaTel for Internet. There's a 100 RMB installation charge if there's existing cables. If they have to install cables, it's 300 RMB. ChinaTel is pretty fast here in Kaiping regarding surfing speed and web link connections.

[ttwjr32]

we are with china unicom also here in guangzhou and we pay 6oo a year
 not to tect savy but at times it is a little slow but Sisi says it is the best they have here?

[Brian Mc]

Greetings Brothers,
here in Wuhu we are also on China telecom and they cam out to do the instal the very next day.  we also got a landline as part of the package and there was no equipment other than the phone.  There is a box outside of my front door though so its been wired in here before.  Cost is 109 rmb per month and we prepaid until feb 2010.  However a weird thing, I took Zhen and I had her ask them to upgrade it to a faster speed but they wont until feb even though it will cost me more money and they dont have to do anything but change the speed and the payment.  Weird I know but thats China I guess.

The connection is not as fast as I had in Canada but so far its been rock solid with no issues.  I want it for internet gaming so I need fast speed but so far I can run two instances of my game on the same laptop with very little lag so overall no complaints.

Aparently you can get fibre optic internet also but its not as dependable as the broadband.

Anyway hope this helps a bit.

Sincerely,

Zhen and Brian

[Willy The Londoner]

Tell me Brian how are you going to get Internet gaming - I take it you mean gambling.  I have tried all the big names,  cannot get any to connect in China.  I like a hand or two of internet tourney play.

Willy

[Brian Mc]

Tell me Brian how are you going to get Internet gaming - I take it you mean gambling.  I have tried all the big names,  cannot get any to connect in China.  I like a hand or two of internet tourney play.

Willy

Hiya Willy,

No I dont mean gambling I mean online computer games like Everquest.  So far I have been able to play two instances of the game on the same computer so its ok, I just wish it was a bit faster.  So no card games or gambling just good clean fun.

Regards,

Zhen and Brian