Wireless Internet Access in Dalian

[mrtoga]

Wonder if anyone currently studying in Dalian can point me in the direction of a bar or cafe with wireless internet access - I am drawing a blank so far. Thanks.

[shdwsclan]

Hmm.

My best bet would be to purchase a kechain wifi finder keychain fob.

They range from $ .99 to about $80.00 on ebay....

Labtops and pdas are generally slow in picking up signals, especially if your in transit so by the time you get a signal, its already gone.

The simpler the sensing technology the better because its faster since the signal doesnt have to be authenticated....

[mrtoga]

Didn't find a bar with wireless. Ended up buying a wireless connection through Liantong.

For the benefit of others who might want one, it cost 1,200 RMB for the card and one year's connection fee. I get unlimited access within Liaoning Province, and 20 hours per month outside of the province (obviously inside China).

So far the speed has been not too slow - adequate for my modest requirements. Apparently after the year is up I will have to pay 700 RMB for a further year's access.

[venture160]

Yea I bought one of those in Harbin because you can't use macs on the HIT campus network, they have proprietary PPP network software that is PC only. It worked great, and I could take it anywhere, its just not fast enough to do alot of downloading etc.

Now in Beijing I have a Palm with the QuanQiuTong China Mobile package, its like 2 fen a KB and I have the net in my office and my home, so I have no need for my wifi card, but I do kind of miss having it. It seems mobile communications in Beijing and Shanghai are so much cheaper than the second-tier cities in China.

[Lao Xiong]

Mrtoga - what is Liantong? Is it the same as Unincom, or China Mobile?

[mrtoga]

Liantong as far as I know is simply the network the card uses. Sorry I did not get too far into the technical aspects when I was using it. The guy installed the software, set up the connection and let me try it. It was fast enough for what I wanted so I just went ahead and bought it.

Venture 160 - may I enquire how much the package you got in Harbin cost? Was it a one-year deal?

[roddy]

Liantong (Unicom in English) is one of the two mobile networks. The other is China Mobile. Both offer services which let you get your laptop online anywhere there is a mobile signal - you need a card for your laptop (similar to a wireless card, but a bit bulkier and with an arial), sometimes a SIM card to go in it, and of course you need to pay . . .

[zhwj]

Is there coverage in Hong Kong on those wireless roaming plans? I have a CDMA-1x modem card from China Unicom that has full Beijing coverage plus national roaming, but I've...misplaced my materials...and am curious if there'll be reception down in the SAR.

[AlexBrit]

I lived in Dalian for three years ('02-'05) and when I first got there I was using dial up, then used broadband... With those super-dooper unicom wireless networks it sounds like things are still movin on in good old boomin China

[roddy]

here's the relevant page for Beijing - doesn't mention anything about roaming to Hong Kong.

If you don't have any need for very fast or constant downloading, this could be an alternative to broadband at home - just get a mobile data card and use it both at home and when you are out. You won't get the speeds you would with broadband (I think CDMA-1X hits about three times dial-up speeds), but you'd save your broadband cost (120-180Y? I think I pay 180Y but that's for a faster service. Not sure to be honest, I didn't set it up ) and could get a limited but still decent service for 200Y per month which you could use anywhere in Beijing (or Dalian, etc).

This has been available for some years, but prices have dropped and it's become more popular lately. Realistically I don't think I need it - broadband at home and everywhere I am likely to use my laptop has wireless. If I was doing much travelling out of Beijing I'd probably get it.