internet in China
Dec 4, 2011 | 10:43 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 118
internet in China
hey
I was going to China with my mother for a month (mainly Jan 2012)
I was wondering, whats the cheapest way to get as fast as possible internet?
We will be staying a bit in Foshan (close to Guangzhou) then go to multiple places
I remember from the last time I was there 3G was expensive. I could be wrong?
I like downloading stuff, so I'd like unlimited if possible, or else as high a limit as possible (500mb won't cut it no matter what)
The plan is to put the simcard (?) into my iPhone3gs if possible.
I was going to China with my mother for a month (mainly Jan 2012)
I was wondering, whats the cheapest way to get as fast as possible internet?
We will be staying a bit in Foshan (close to Guangzhou) then go to multiple places
I remember from the last time I was there 3G was expensive. I could be wrong?
I like downloading stuff, so I'd like unlimited if possible, or else as high a limit as possible (500mb won't cut it no matter what)
The plan is to put the simcard (?) into my iPhone3gs if possible.
Last edited by Gaura Mohana; Dec 4, 2011 at 11:09 am
Dec 4, 2011 | 8:09 pm
#2
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Bay Area
Programs: BA - Blue
Posts: 4,718
What you presumably 'want' is lots of data on your phone from my understanding. There is a thread on SIM cards in china that does address this issue, and there are data-only solutions possible. But "I want" doesn't "I get". The 3G speeds here are slower than USA, at least in my experience, but can be tolerable.
Data is actually pretty cheap, again, compared with USA. Modest overage is affordable, but if you really go insane it can cost you. I have a monthly plan, and if I go over, I think the charge is c. 0.0003 RMB/kb so 1GB would cost you 300 RMB (c. US$48).
tb
Data is actually pretty cheap, again, compared with USA. Modest overage is affordable, but if you really go insane it can cost you. I have a monthly plan, and if I go over, I think the charge is c. 0.0003 RMB/kb so 1GB would cost you 300 RMB (c. US$48).
tb
Dec 4, 2011 | 11:02 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 38,543
Cheapest = internet cafe.
This place costs me about 2 1/4 Yuan/hr (although that is a bulk-purchase price, the walk-up rate is 3 Yuan/hr.) I don't know what their link is like but it's good--the few times I've pulled large files they've come in at speeds close to what I'm used to at home and I have the highest tier offered in my area. Most of the machines have exposed USB ports and flash drives work fine in them.
This place costs me about 2 1/4 Yuan/hr (although that is a bulk-purchase price, the walk-up rate is 3 Yuan/hr.) I don't know what their link is like but it's good--the few times I've pulled large files they've come in at speeds close to what I'm used to at home and I have the highest tier offered in my area. Most of the machines have exposed USB ports and flash drives work fine in them.
Dec 5, 2011 | 4:24 am
#6
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Bay Area
Programs: BA - Blue
Posts: 4,718
tb
Dec 5, 2011 | 5:07 am
#7
Join Date: Aug 2008
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Best case scenario is at least ten times faster than that. So you're going to see an improvement. And yes, they have a plan with "gas allowance". 300RMB for 3GB, 600RMB for 6GB. These are the cards you can purchase in one shot. If you want less you'll have to find someone who's got an existing card and buy it off of them because practically nobody sells them "blank".
Dec 5, 2011 | 6:36 am
#9
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: SIN / CNX / SFO
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The only W-CDMA provider in the PRC that can sell you a 3G SIM for your iPhone is China Unicom 中国联通; China Mobile uses a proprietary, China-only 3G standard (S-TD-SCDMA) that falls back to standard GSM/EDGE on non-compatible hardware, while China Telecom uses CDMA2000 1x EV-DO that wouldn't work with an iPhone at all.
Dec 6, 2011 | 1:12 am
#11
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 46,302
If time permits, you might want to try to grab a SIM/plan on eBay. Also, for long term visitors, there are some sick tuangou deals out there (e.g. y1500 for 2 years with 700 mins of talk time per month and more than enough data for most people). Telphony/internet is one area in which China is much cheaper than most other countries. I even use my China numbers when I'm in the US/Europe because roaming rates aren't really any higher than prepaid SIMs.
Dec 6, 2011 | 3:48 am
#12
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Beijing
Programs: SK EBG, BAEC Gold
Posts: 985
Only in Chinese as far as I know - but you can use a free web-page translation site to get the main points. It seems there are some good deals for pay-monthly-as-you-go data plans, but as far as I recall these all start from the beginning of each month (can anyone confirm that?) - so depending on your exact arrival date these may or may be better for you.
China Unicom no-contract data plans
That sounds good - I may have to question you more on this for 2012. I still haven't joined the 3g-club (I still have a phone that does little else but handle calls), but I can see that this is something I am just going to have to sort out next year.
China Unicom no-contract data plans
That sounds good - I may have to question you more on this for 2012. I still haven't joined the 3g-club (I still have a phone that does little else but handle calls), but I can see that this is something I am just going to have to sort out next year.
Dec 7, 2011 | 9:06 pm
#15
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Asia/Europe
Programs: CX, OZ, MU (+AY, DL), Shangri-La, Hilton
Posts: 7,233
And as for the normally (sans VPN) blocked pages, some for political content and some for failing to pay protection money to the relevant Chinese authorities.
Blogger
Facebook
Oneworld Alliance (American Airlines, British Airways etc.)
Twitter
Wordpress
Xing (German based professional networking site similar to Linkedin)
Youtube and most other Western video screening sites
Blogger
Oneworld Alliance (American Airlines, British Airways etc.)
Wordpress
Xing (German based professional networking site similar to Linkedin)
Youtube and most other Western video screening sites
Last edited by mosburger; Dec 9, 2011 at 5:32 am