Tag: pccw

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iPhone 3G Unleash-able from Three HK

Three HK logoThere was a report last night that the iPhone 3G sold by the carrier, Three, in Hong Kong is unlocked; meaning it is not tied to a specific carrier.

This news was a bit hard to believe as news from other countries like US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, the iPhone 3G sold there are all locked to the respective mobile carriers.

Therefor, if you do not want to stick with Three’s service you now have a choice, but the cheapest choice is:

HKD4680.00 + HKD188 x 24 months + MTR Fee (HKD12 x 24) = HKD9480.00 – HKD1742 = HKD7738 (including the rebate you will receive over 2 years)

Three HK Tariff in HKD

Now I have first hand confirmation from a friend who purchased one of these iPhone 3G at Three HK. He was able to put in a PCCW SIM card while having full access to all functionalities of the phone including EDGE and GPRS functions.

Is this really worth it. I say not, especially if you already have an iPhone (1st generation). Wait for the other carriers in Hong Kong; namely PCCW and/or Smartone-Vodafone receive the rights to sell the iPhone 3G.

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[Repost] Truth About PCCW’s Netvigator Service

Repost from: Vinko’s Satellite Blog

Netvigator

For those who do not know, “Netvigator” is the ISP (Internet Service Provider) owned and operated by PCCW of Hong Kong. Like many ISP now a days, Netvigator offers a series of different broadband packages.

I subscribe to their “8M Single User” plan, which means a “8Mbps service”. Like all ISP, that 8Mbps (8 Mega bits per second) throughput is a theoretical maxium download speed, which no one would ever achieve due to the various variables that would effect the actual throughput.

According to the technician at Netvigator Technical Support and the one that came to check my setup. With a 8M service plan the realistic throughput is about 80% – 90% of what’s listed. This equates to about 6554Kbps down stream(download speed) and approximately 819Kbps up stream (upload speed).

For the past 4 years of subscribing to this service (8M plan) I had never enjoyed a speed of more than 2000Kbps down stream. Plus, I had reported this and they had checked my set up numerous times through out the past 4 years.

Recently I joined Netvigator’s NetOne loyalty service, which finally able me to contact their Technical Service hotline 24 hours a day when I encountered connection slow downs. As a result they monitored my Internet connection for a week, and then today came to replace my modem.

As soon as the technician replaced the modem my connection speed improved 3 times. Reaching a down stream speed of 6438Kbps and a up stream speed of 628Kbps.

So the lesson from this is to never believe the ISP when you feel your Internet connection is not up to par. Use analytical results to confirm your suspicions. If possible use the ISP’s own test page; in the case of Netvigator you should use their “Network Test” page, to test your connection speed. Failing that use a site like SpeedTest.Net to test your connection.

So go confirm you are receiving the service level you paid for and stop getting ripped off.