Olympic Media Village – Most Expensive Internet In the World?

An anonymous reader writes "Working for the Olympics as an IT contractor, I recently moved to the Media Village (where all of the reporters live) and was surprised the there was no free internet. BOCOG (Beijing Organizing Committee of the 2008 Olympic Games) is charging a ridiculous amount of money for ADSL service: for 512/512 it costs 7712.5 RMB (1131.20 USD); for 1M/512 it costs 9156.25 (1342.95 USD); for 2M/512 it costs a whopping 11,700 RMB (1716.05 USD). That is for only one month! For extra features like a fixed IP? That costs an additional 450 RMB (66 USD). I just can't believe that not only do I have to deal with the Great Firewall of China, but also pay through the nose to use it!"

Comments

The great firewall

[MortenLJ]

I just can't believe that not only do I have to deal with the Great Firewall of China, but also pay through the nose to use it!

As far as I remember, it is a specific requirement from IOC that the journalists have full access to the entire internet, so probably the connections go past the firewall. That said, it is still ridiculously expensive ;-)

Try Dubai..

[Anonymous Coward]

Oh please.. I pay about $6k/mo. for my business's Internet connection (2mbps).

I am not an Internet company. This is for our office of 17 employees.

SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH!

And yes, they do block things at will here too. They didn't in the past (at least not for the businesses in the free zones). Now they do.

So, sorry.. no sympathy here.

Re:Try Dubai..

[h4rm0ny]

Notice anything? Hmm, I notice a bunch of buildings built upon the backs of slave labor in the middle of a desert with zero natural resources.

No natural resources apart from... oil! Or do you believe that trade should be banned and things built only with the resources already local? The Middle East may also find itself a natural location for solar energy should it ever become viable (which bit by bit it starts to look as though it might). And before oil, Dubai has been also been an important trading point for centuries due to its prime location. Dubai has many reasons for existing, not the least of which is that people in that part of the world would like a city to live in. Or would you have them scattered about in tents, culture stifled?

Now the slave labour issue you are right to comment on. Immigrant workers in the UAE get a dreadful deal and this should change. However, I said nothing about this, only that the GP was talking out of his or her bottom when they called it "the middle of a shithole wasteland" where camels drifted randomly about the place eating copper wiring. Clearly this person needed educating as to the actual size and level of technological development of Dubai and I was happy to oblige - graphically.

Now you come at me with what I can only take to be some sort of condemnation of the existence of the city. Certainly if you're willing to put 2,000,000+ people up at your place you might be justified in suggesting getting rid of the place, but for the meantime, I think it's a bit wrong to condemn it for being there. As to the slave labour, I hope that improves but, assuming you are from the USA, it's worth pointing out that your country has its own slave labour industry only you call it "prison labour." Used in such stalwarts as Toys-R-Us, Honda, Konica, Microsoft where people have been paid as little as $0.50 per hour. Prison is profit in the USA. No wonder you have the highest incarceration rates in the World.

Obviously I'm not saying two wrongs make a right, but pointing out a false sense of superiority is a useful step toward improving things. And besides, my sole point was that Dubai is a big, highly-developed city and the OP is crassly wrong to think it is some wasteland.

Re:Try Dubai..

[h4rm0ny]

How many Jews are allowed there again?

Pretty much until the hotels are full, I guess. If you're talking about Israelis, then you have a problem.But Jewish != Israeli. The nastiest trick the Israeli government pulls is to try and pretend it represents not a nation, but an ethnicity. Nobody should let another country define who they are and what they believe in.

Re:Try Dubai..

[tommeke100]

> It does have an oil industry and the people who live here are justified in using it to improve their living environment, are they not?

yes, but not at the cost of Chinese and Indian slave labor. http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/11/dark_side_of_du.html

International Youth Hostel Backpackers' Club ISP

[keneng]

In Beijing across the street from the train station, you'll find the International Youth Hostel. On the third floor there's the backpackers' club where they have six machines hooked up to the internet.

They charge 3RMB an hour. If you book it for the entire month, I'm sure it would cost much less than 7712.5RMB :)

For your information, a hostel room with two beds costs 180RMB and you share the shower/sinks/bathrooms. I stayed there for a couple of days. It was worth every penny and it was impeccably clean. I highly recommend it.

It's just the olympic village

[LS]

Internet cafes are still only 1 dollar an hour, and our office here in Beijing's connection with 2MBps up/down and 4 static IPs is about $130/month.

LS

Re:nw chrgs sk

[Projectuprising]

The bad grammar is the fault of the original, not mine ;)

TITLE: New charges suck

Fuck you China Government. I really would like to say more than just these few words, but the high charges are not affordable.

If only I could be able to write that I disapprove entirely of these high charges I wouldn't have to be abbreviated and could say if I have been abused or tortured or not.

If I could afford to tell if I have been tortured trust me I would just say it.

Anyway I will have to sign off now because I'm late for a protest march in Tianamen Square.

I should be back soon, sorry I had to make this so short.

Next time I will see if I can get a discount or not.

Laters, bye bye \.

By the way, (i) what did you think of the Batman movie? It was awesome, you really should see it if you get the chance. Heath Ledger was good, I think Oscar for sure, not just out of sympathy.

Anyway, I will see you later, bye bye \.

Re:Not So Expensive for Normal Folk

[dwater]

I lived in Beijing until very recently and the lowest cost was about 99rmb per month (3month contract) for a 10Mbps connection w/o any limits. That was a static private IP.
ADSL with a dynamic/public IP started at about the same for 512/512 and went up from there.

Pretty cheap, I thought.

Re:Capitalist China?

[will_die]

They have been moving somewhat but they are going to get lots of bad press during the next couple of weeks.
Here are some examples
Lots of live concerts, inside bars, non-government concert halls, etc have been told they could not perform, via a police crackdown. Also since any live concert of any type needs a permit the office giving those permits has not been giving them out to non-government organized events for the past months, for the time during and leading to the olympics.
large parts of the city have been placed off limits to anyone who does not have business in that area, and if are a tourist you have no business.
Restaurants are being told what they can serve during the Olymipic time period.
Doctors are being told that they cannot perform elective medical surgery, this is more because the government wants to make sure enough trained medical personal are available.
Everyone is required to carry ID and police are allow to stop and perform full searches and verifiication of residence and belongings at any time.
Even more lockdown on travel for Chinesse, it is easier for a forgiener to travel around the country then it is for a citizen.

First Olympics?

[greenfield]

This must be your first Olympics. There is no other way to explain your naivete.

The organizing committees for the Olympic Games always charge an excessive amount of money for everything. As a contractor, I'm sure you have absolutely no idea what your room is costing, but I'm sure it is around ten thousand dollars for a mere three weeks. And the media housing is not a four star hotel.

Check out the rate card if you are really interested in cost inflation. A chair rental in the press center is usually between $300 and $600. And this is not for a nice adjustable chair--this is for a chair that would cost $30 to $50 retail.

Heck, everyone gets in the act: when I visited China last year, a first class direct business fare from New York City was under $1500. For the Olympics, that same flight was well over $6000.

You may also think the food at local restaurants is affordable, but I can assure you that the local merchants have probably doubled or tripled their prices.

There is nothing given away for free at the Olympics. Except for pins. And you usually have to trade for them.

Incidentally, here are a couple of other quick tips: China is not a democracy, don't drink the water ever (the locals don't), and make time to visit the Great Wall.

Re:Capitalist China?

[Free the Cowards]

Even more lockdown on travel for Chinesse, it is easier for a forgiener to travel around the country then it is for a citizen.

I just want to address this last point. It's always easier for a foreigner to do just about anything than it is for a citizen. China is backwards from many countries, particularly from the US, in this respect. Most places, natives have it easy and foreigners are viewed with suspicion, given more difficulty by the government, etc. In China it's the other way around. If you're a foreigner then everything is much easier. Police and government officials are much nicer, the places you're likely to visit are usually cleaner, people in general tend to be more polite. A major exception is prices; things tend to spontaneously become more expensive the moment somebody notices that you're not Chinese.