just moved to HK from Los Angeles NEED HELP!

[adwang]

hello fellow expats. i just moved from Los Angeles and i need to set up internet access for my new house. the house is in Yuen Long and i am thinking about getting the SmarTone Home Broadband 8MB or the PCCW 8MB broadband. i dont know which one to get as my area only provides the 8MB coverage. both prices are fairly reasonable and i just want to know which one is the fastest and which one to get in my area. any ideas? thanks a bunch!

[PDLM]

I'd go for the PCCW - you probably want the NOW TV anyway.

[adwang]

thanks for the opinion. do you think i will be able to stream online videos and stuff? i am a big lakers fan and i want to be able to stream the games online.

[HKChigger]

Smartone works off of cellular signal, so you may have less speeds or even not working at all if your house has bad coverage. PCCW although very much a monopoly company they are hard wired in to your house, so there is no reason for internet not to work.

I say this because I had a friend who went from PCCW to Smartone using their broadband everywhere stick, his house had bad coverage so he called to complain. They said they would upgrade the network in September. The upgrade never came. Anyways he has managed to get out of the contract, but he spent around 8 months having to put the Smartone stick out the window which means he can't use the internet in the rain and has to worry about people stealing the stick.

[justsomebody2]

some areas in Yeun Long is kind of a remote area where the signals for cellular broadcast is kind of a "lucky draw"...

I recommend you just go with the hard line, PCCW... cant really go wrong and if you complain, they usually have someone come over and take a look at your modem/line within a week or less.

[wcdma]

I just got PCCW's 30M connection with now TV subscription. I'm very happy for it. Also, the installation was done within a week from the order.

[hkken569]

I would use HKBN if possible in your house. You get similar TV box channel deals as you would on PCCW for a better monthly rate and with the added bonus of semi-competent CS followup if you have a problem.

[adwang]

ooh, thanks everyone! i actually decided on PCCW. thanks a bunch!