ADSL vs. Broadband

[muyongshi]

You are mistaken... you won't find one....

[gato]

China has only ADSL as far as I know. The term broadband refers to fast internet access (compared to dialup or ISDN) and not a specific technology. It includes both ADSL and cable internet and also satellite and cellular internet access, for instance.

[ipsi()]

I have heard from my girlfriend that there is Cable. Wasn't in either of the two houses I stayed at, but she said it was there. However, I'd take that with a grain of salt, as she's not the greatest with Tech stuff and my Chinese isn't good enough to ask about it myself... :-(.

I'd love cable, as ADSL is pretty poor, speed-wise, compared to Cable. That, and the ADSL I've experienced in NZ is really unreliable. :-(

[roddy]

There might be cable here and there, as there are often little local anomalies - you might live in an area where they're trialling something new, for example, but the vast majority of domestic Internet connections are standard, through a phone line, ADSL.

Actually, maybe it's more common than I thought - I just remembered in Beijing I had the option of cable Internet from 歌华, which operate the cable TV network (or at least some of it). See here for the pricing.

[shanghaikai]

Many of the newer highrise or community complexes have cable internet built in. This doesn't mean you get free cable, it just means your building is wired to support it (including the sockets in your specific unit). You'll still have to get your service subscription through the local provider, who may also need to come by and switch your connection on. Afterwards, you simply plug in your ethernet cable (cat-5) into the ethernet socket in the wall. The technician that comes by may also need your computer to set up the login information and test to see if it works. You can also just set your router to keep the connection live all the time.

With these sort of situations, you do not actually go out and buy a cable modem. A cable modem simply converts the signal from a coaxial cable (which is what most cable runs through) into a cat-5 ethernet cable that is compatible with your computer. My family in the States has a cable internet setup that requires a cable modem. They then split the connection via a router to various computers in the house. That isn't the case here in China unless MAYBE if you're dealing with newer age single-family suburban homes. I doubt that is the case for you.

First check if your complex supports cable internet, then talk to your local provider if that options is available for your complex. If so, just select that option and schedule a time for the technician to come over and set everything up for you. If cable isn't available, then you'll have to settle for ADSL, in which case, they should still be able to set up everything for you. Cheers.