I am moving to Ma on Shan Centre, need a good ISP

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    74

    I am moving to Ma on Shan Centre, need a good ISP

    Hey all,

    I've lived in Horizon Suite Hotel for almost 2 years and have been enjoying their 10 megabits per second up/down ethernet based Internet service for about $180 per month. Anyway I had my Hote contract under my HK corporation's name, including the Internet service.

    Since the Hotel is asking for $2000 more per month now for a new contract, we decided to move to a flat in Ma on Shan Centre.

    Does anyone know if any of the flats there support ethernet service? From what I've seen, they only offer DSL which kind of blows but we'll only be there for like a year before buying a flat.

    What is the best ISP for downloading stuff from the U.S. AND also has good upload speeds? I've been spoiled with 10Mbps uploads so I'm going to get something with at least 1 megabit of upload speed or more.

    So far we've looked at HGC but those morons charge more if you are setting up a contract under a business name and give you LESS speed. According to the sales person on the street, they charge almost $400 a month for 6 megabits if it's under a business name...which is a COMPLETE RIPOFF unless it's 6 megabits up and down and $180 a month for 10 megabits down if it's under a personal name.

    Does anyone know if the HGC business account is any better, because I don't see how they get justify such a rip off price if the service isn't any better? Like I said if it's 6 megabits up and down that isn't too bad compared with 10 megabits down and 500Kbps up.

    HGC is the first company that is charging MORE for slower service just because it's setup under a business. I have my mobile service and my vodaphone wireless broadband Internet service under my company name and they didn't charge me a penny extra.

    Is PCCW any better? What other options are out there? I hear from some people that HGC provides absolute crap customer service since Li Ka Shing is the cheapest bastard in Hong Kong.

    What flats offer ethernet based Internet service? Is it common or still rare? When I am ready to buy a flat, I would much rather get my Internet through ethernet not DSL.


  2. #2

    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Sai Kung
    Posts
    4,151

    HGC is not the first company that charges more for business connections, they pretty much all do, PCCW is one for a start.

    HGC for personal use is usually a 10Mb VDSL line, so 10Mb each way and runs through fibre. PCCW is ADSL so up to 8Mb downlaod and normally about 384kb upload - if your lucky. I can't get my 8Mb line to go anything over 3Mb.

    For business we're using Wharf at the moment and it's been pretty good but again costs more than residential broadband - about $200 for 2Mb. But in comparison to another company nearby who are paying PCCW $342 per month for a 1.5Mb service it looks pretty good!


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    74

    I think I'll go with an HGC personal account and just pay with my company bank account. I run my business from home anyway.

    I don't get why they charge more to businesses though. Really freaking stupid cosidering the fact I can have my mobile broadband service and a mobile phone for the same price on a business account.

    Oh well, it's not the end of the world. I'm just a little surprised business users have to pay the same price for poorer quality service.

    Do they just assume business users will upload more data and therefore charge more as a result?


  4. #4

    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    Sai Kung
    Posts
    4,151
    Quote Originally Posted by IceAIM:
    Do they just assume business users will upload more data and therefore charge more as a result?
    That I have no idea about. I did speak with PCCW customer service about this one and was told, after making comparisons with their residential 8Mb vs 1.5MB business service, that "you cannot make a comparison". Even when pressed they couldn't tell me why......

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    74

    So how do I setup an HGC account? What is their phone number?

    Do I just call them and tell them the address of my new place and they set everything up and bill me, or is it more complex than that? Do I need a credit card?


  6. #6

    Not sure here in HK but the main differences normally between business and personal accounts are

    1. Contention ratios are better so less people sharing the line For example had a 1.5 Mbps business link which was quicker than the 8Mbps personal link I have with PCCW

    2. Downtime is guaranteed i.e. they will guarantee not to have the link down more than x minutes per month