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Need advice to choose between PCCW and iCable Broadband, please help.

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  1. #21

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    I'm not gonna pretend I understand much legalese, but it's pretty clear that the 7 day cooling off period becomes invalid if the installation has started. If the sales guy can be dishonest regarding that when trying to sell me services, it doesn't really inspire much confidence in anything else he says or in the company he works for. Also he still hasn't called me back yet, and it seems like he cannot produce anything in writing that says I can cancel within 7 days of installation with no penalty.
    Last edited by Q7BF342P; 12-08-2016 at 06:34 PM.

  2. #22

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    Yeah, all the i-cable crap they tell you over the phone has fine print. So if you wanna play safe you have to read the text to end up with the conclusion that you have no rights whatsoever to complain about anything, or any part, regardless what the sales guy told you. So basically with i-cable you're reduced to "you better damn sure that shit works from day one, because otherwise you're SOL and paying for it for the remaining of the contract period".

    Three Broadband has some crappy fineprint stuff like that, and similar circular conversations with the sales dudes if you try to clarify them.
    PCCW might have them too, but I believe at least their service is fully reliable. If you're IT, I wouldn't consider i-cable. I got burned already once when I needed urgently to remote to a server, and ended up doing it with the phone's 3G due to the i-cable's modem refusing to connect. I wasn't very happy that day.

    EDIT: I see you figured out by yourself already all the i-cable inner stuff (like, not FTTH but more like FTTB)...If your building isn't very new, the internal antenna wiring might leave to be desired. When many people connect to the internet (or turn on their TVs!) signal noise compounds, and your synced speed decreases noticeably. One important thing of i-cable is the quoted speed is usually NOT reachable after 8PM on any given work day, as people get back from work and turn on their tellies/use their internet within your building.

    Last edited by timonoj; 15-08-2016 at 04:54 PM.
    Q7BF342P likes this.

  3. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by timonoj:
    If you're IT, I wouldn't consider i-cable. I got burned already once when I needed urgently to remote to a server, and ended up doing it with the phone's 3G due to the i-cable's modem refusing to connect. I wasn't very happy that day.
    Thanks for the feedback @timonoj, very helpful.

    I have already decided against i-Cable. They could not provide me anything in writing that said I had 7 days to try out the service with no penalty if cancelled. The sales guy called me numerous times and practically pleaded with me, saying things like "I'm not trying to cheat you", "This is our company policy", etc. No matter how many times I asked him to give me something in writing, he just started going in circles again, so finally I just had enough and cancelled my scheduled installation.

    So now my only option is PCCW. I can go with the 100 Mbps which isn't FTTH but VDSL (better than ADSL but not as good as fiber) and pay the $980 HKD installation fee. Bandwidth on this plan is shared so I expect speeds would be reduced during peak hours but as long as it's stable I'm ok. Or I can go with the FTTH 300, 500, or 1,000 Mbps option with the insane installation fee of $5,800 HKD. The bandwidth on that is guaranteed so at least I wouldn't be sharing it with anybody else... :/

    Sales guy at PCCW said if I went with 100 Mbps and decided to upgrade later to FTTH I would have to pay the full installation fee for FTTH instead of a pro-rated one. I'm leaning towards FTTH but that installation fee really sucks.

  4. #24

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    man....That installation fee sucks so much. I don't know what I'd do. There has to be a way to bypass it...

    What about getting a contract transfer? I know some people offer the remainder of their contract if they need to leave earlier than the termination.
    There's another forum for HK Asia expats which we shan't mention where I noticed some adverts for this kind of internet contract transfers in the classifieds section...


  5. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by timonoj:
    man....That installation fee sucks so much. I don't know what I'd do. There has to be a way to bypass it...
    If there's a way I haven't found it yet. I've tried every negotiation tactic I know of and they just aren't budging. The problem is they've listed my building as in a "VIP" area, so I can't deal with anyone other than their telephone sales reps. I've tried going to 2 PCCW locations, talking to 1 PCCW sales guy I found on the street, and in every case they all told me they can't help me. On top of that, it seems like my contact number is routed to a specific sales agent because there is no direct line to their "VIP" sales section, you have to leave a contact number and they call you back. Every time I get a call back it's from the same guy.

    Also I think PCCW knows my options are limited in my building which doesn't help. I already used the "i-Cable can give me free installation" line which resulted in the sales guy saying he would ask his sales manager and would call me back, but he never gave me a call back so that pretty much answered that...


    Quote Originally Posted by timonoj:
    What about getting a contract transfer? I know some people offer the remainder of their contract if they need to leave earlier than the termination.
    There's another forum for HK Asia expats which we shan't mention where I noticed some adverts for this kind of internet contract transfers in the classifieds section...
    Checked on that, seems like the installation fee still applies even if the contact is being transferred.

  6. #26

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    Sorry man...I'm all out of ideas. IMHO PCCW is the most reliable of the two, but that price...holy crap. I wouldn't pay that much, but I don't know what I'd do. As IT, when checking an apartment, now I always go back and make sure I'll have viable internet optons...but that's not a useful tip right now. Sorry, don't have much options. Either unreliable service, or eye-gouging price...Your choice. Three broadband doesn't give coverage either?


  7. #27

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    I hate PCCW and am going with I-cable at my new flat, where HK broadband isn't available yet. I might regret it but PCCW has kind of ruined my life so it can't really get much worse. And at least I don't have to pay an installation fee


  8. #28

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    Thank you for this post. I am sitting in the same dilemma at the moment. PCCW vs iCable.

    HKD398 per month (24 months contract) for 500mbps with a one time HKD3000 connection/installation fee (mid-levels).

    iCable is HKD199/mo (24 months contract) for 200 mbps with no connection/installation fee.

    I was all set with PCCW, have even scheduled installation for later in the week, however, bumped into a friend over the weekend who suggested icable.

    We are not at home during the day time, however, evenings/weekends, we do love our streaming channels/sports.

    This thread has helped decide one thing, whichever service we go with, we are stuck in a 24 month contract. Question to ask now is, do I risk it with icable and try them out, or do I bite the bullet on hefty connection fee for PCCW and go with what they are offering?


  9. #29

    I'm in the same boat. I have been using PCCW for years in an old low-rise building with a painfully slow connection (they say that I would need to pay $10k+ to upgrade the line). I used i-cable many years ago at another location and it was about the same, though I recall that the customer service was quite bad (tough to reach anyone who spoke decent English). I figure if I'm stuck with a lousy slow connection, I might as well pay half the price for i-cable...or do you think that it would somehow be worse? Unfortunately HKBN and other providers do not service this area.


  10. #30

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    heads up - i-cable lost its finance from Wharf a few months ago, so was seeking an alternative source of finance, they found a lifeline, but who knows how long that will last

    Loss-making pay TV operator i-Cable faces decision on continuing operations - The Standard

    i-Cable down 21 pc despite white knights ride to rescue with plans for expansion | South China Morning Post