3G Internet Modems - options in Beijing

[roddy]

I know we've got discussions on 3G Internet in general, but I'm currently looking specifically at the USB stick modems.

Did a little bit of research (mainly reading the ever useful Baidu Zhidao) and general opinion seemed to be that China Mobile's offering is pretty weak, while China Unicom's and China Telecom's are usable, with Telecom seeming to have better feedback but nothing conclusive.

You can get a China Telecom 3G modem and a year's service from Amazon.cn for 1700. That gives you 300 hours per month, with extra hours at RMB 3.

Anyone actually using any of these services? I'm getting tired of relying on cafe wireless, and if the network is reliable and I could just ditch fixed-line broadband.

[roddy]

Got one!

Literally just got it set up, very initial impressions are that it's pretty good. Don't have the time to mess around with speed tests or anything just now, but will get back to you on that . . .

[imron]

Which one did you get? China Unicom uses WCDMA which is the stronger standard and will have the most compatibility with other countries.

[roddy]

I got the China Telecom one I mention above - wasn't too worried about overseas compatibility as the modems themselves are pretty cheap in the UK (last I looked I think Vodafone was giving them away if you bought five pounds PAYG credit). Would have been an issue with a phone though. It also seemed to get the best reports online - not exclusively good, but there were at least people having positive experiences. I won't pretend to have done comprehensive research though.

So far I'm pleased with it. Connecting is quick, haven't had any trouble with poor or dropped signals. The speed is decent - there's perhaps a noticeable slow down on browsing, but we're talking the difference between 2M and 1M Internet, not 1M and dial-up. Will see how it goes - could well be very different at busy times / locations.

[AxelManbow]

What's national coverage like? I've read plans of covering 95% of a city for the first and second tier cities, but don't know how that's progressed.

Also, are there any mobile-aware services becoming popular? Like super-local advertising (the local KFC filling an ad slot on a webpage, for example)?

[roddy]

Haven't noticed that, but the cheeky %$£%£$% at China Telecom are inserting their own ads every now and then - only happened twice so far, but I'm not particularly amused.

That said, doing ok. I'm seeing speeds vary between 60 and 180 kbs - I think it might have peaked quite a bit higher. Got a gigabyte of video downloaded without having to leave it on for long periods. Not sure how long it was actually on for, as I haven't figured out how to check my account yet. Never failed to connect, haven't noticed it dropping the connection.

[Senzhi]

Haven't noticed that, but the cheeky %$£%£$% at China Telecom are inserting their own ads every now and then - only happened twice so far, but I'm not particularly amused.

Happens on my fixed broadband from them too, so not only related to their mobile internet.

Very annoying indeed, not to mention purely criminal ... hijacking the page I'm visiting: I'm each time forced to reload the page.

[AxelManbow]

Haven't noticed that, but the cheeky %$£%£$% at China Telecom are inserting their own ads every now and then - only happened twice so far, but I'm not particularly amused.

Happens on my fixed broadband from them too, so not only related to their mobile internet.

Very annoying indeed, not to mention purely criminal ... hijacking the page I'm visiting: I'm each time forced to reload the page.

Happens to my fixed broadband on China Unicom too. [On a clean Linux install, and only when on a non SSH/VPN connection, pretty sure not software/adware.] Odd thing, over the last month the ads have included things for content and sites which are definitely illegal under Chinese law, making me think the ad injection is happening at the local loop level, traffic interception maybe, too brazen for the ISP to be doing.

[roddy]

Tip for anyone interested - the more recent versions of China Telecom's client software (2.? if you download it from their site,1.92 comes on the modem) have actually had functions removed. If you roll back to 1.0 (here, at your own risk) you get text messaging and allegedly (can't get it to work) voice calls. Seems there might be disadvantages in terms of switching between 3G and 1X though.

The modem I have (EC1260) also has a Micro SD slot if you need it to double up as a flash drive.

[roddy]

Anyone who wants to ditch the China Telecom client software: remove it via control panel, then use the modem to connect directly:

#777

ctnet@mycdma.cn

vnet.mobi

Just done this and it means it can't mess with my DNS settings, and unless I'm mistaken it also seems a little faster. And so far it hasn't broken anything.

[roddy]

Any other 天翼 users having problems? Mine suddenly started failing to connect this morning, never done that before. Either hangs at dialing or checking the password. Am reinstalling and troubleshooting now. Could be that I've run up a bill, haven't been checking that . . .

Edit: Yep, that was it. At least I assume so, it started working after I stuck 50Y on it.

[Embla]

Wow, thanks for this thread, Roddy! It's helpful. : )

The original post was last November, so do you have a change in opinion as to which provider is better? Also, if I plan to be out in a smaller city, say Pinggu, or go hiking in Changping, do you know how coverage would be there?

[roddy]

Not really, I've been happy enough with mine and so I haven't looked at other options. All I can really say is that the one I've got works as it should here in central Beijing. I'd imagine smaller / outlying places will still have coverage, although you may need to drop down to 2 / 2.5G, and bear in mind that outside of Beijing you may run up roaming charges.

[roddy]

What's national coverage like? I've read plans of covering 95% of a city for the first and second tier cities, but don't know how that's progressed.

Having just used the 3G card on a return train trip to Hong Kong, it seems pretty good - usable for large parts of the journey, although there were of course stretches where it was dropping out or falling back to 2.5G. Definitely usable enough to help pass the time.

[roddy]

For reference, I've been seeing slower speeds over the last month or so, and while it's still usable I'll probably check out the other offerings rather than automatically renew the China Telecom package when it runs out. I'd assume it's just greater contention as more people take up the service.

Also noticed a jump in those annoying interstitial ads recently.

Any other 3G modem users?

[Matty]

I use a China Mobile one - mainly for the price, and the fact that I'm not being charged by the hour.

I get 5GB for 65元 a month at the moment. The speed isn't incredible but then again it's not as slow as what I was used to in Australia.

The only complaint I'd really have is the BOC website wont load from it - probably a security thing.