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When Internet is shifting from computer, laptop to mobile, it is critical to find out exactly how China Mobile charges you for GPRS. Here is the guide (sorry for posting it late, since I know many people have asked for this information)
Level 1: No Package
If you have a mobile and you haven't call China Mobile to subscribe to any GPRS package, you are customer of this package. It is the unified fee:
0.03 RMB per 1K of traffic
This is very expensive, as you may calculate. A typical web page is 10K - 100K. That means the shortest page is equal to 1 minute of phone call.
Don't be silly to use this package, but the majority of visitors are using this package.
Level 2: 5 RMB for 10 Megabytes of CMWAP Traffic
This is much better, 1/60 of the first level (or 0.0005 RMB per 1K traffic).
Before I continue, I have to explain about the difference between CMWAP, and CMNET.
For more carriers, there are only one GPRS network - all mobiles access the Internet as if it is a terminal computer on Internet - they have their own public IP addresses. This is what CMNET exactly means (CMNET = China Mobile Internet)
For CMWAP, you cannot access the Internet. You can only access a very small part of it - those WAP sites directly connected with China Mobile. For example, you cannot use MSN Messenger on your Windows Mobile, and cannot access your email at home.
Of cause, there are many ways to workaround this limitation.
Level 3: 20 RMB for Unlimited CMWAP
If you understand the limitation of CMWAP, this is the package for you:
20 RMB for Unlimited CMWAP
Level 4: 20 RMB for 50M of CMWAP or CMNET
This is the package I am using.
20 RMB for 50M of CMWAP or CMNET
If you exceed 50M of traffic, you pay 0.01 RMB per Kilobytes
To give you some ideas of how much 50 M is, let me share my data.
In March, I used 19M of traffic (40% of the allowrance). This is the application I used:
Gmail (http://gmail.com)
ActiveSync, I have every email in my Exchange email box (and I typically read on my mobile first)
Web pages (Google Reader Mobile Edition, and My Comment RSS) - daily
Other web application.
So I believe it is good for most people.
Level 5: 100 RMB for 800 M
Level 6: 200 RMB for 2000M
Level 7: 500 RMB for Unlimited CMNET and CMWAP
I don't have idea about who should use this level.
Summary
In summary, I suggest 20 RMB for 50 M CMNET and CMWAP access is good for most of GPRS users.
Posted by Jian Shuo Wang at April 1, 2007 11:38 PM
Copyright: You are free to redistribute this work, as long as you keep this disclaimer
and this link: http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20070401_gprs_package_from_china_mobile.htm
I choose Level 2, but I can use MSN Messenger on my phone (via the new client @ http://mclient.msn.com.cn). Is that mean I am charged @ RMB 0.03/Kb?
Posted by: Neo Zhang (external link) on April 2, 2007 10:36 AMWow, unlimited bandwidth for only 500 a month! Think of all the call charges you'll save when using VOIP (if only GPRS was fast enough).
Do you have any info on 3G plans, if there are any in China?
Posted by: Herbert on April 2, 2007 4:20 PMThe unlimited package was only 200 or 300 RMB several years ago. I remember that CM discontinued the unlimited package awhile back. I didn't know they came up with another one recently.
Posted by: Shockr on April 4, 2007 5:45 AMWang,
Im interesting in getting my notebook the PCMCIA card so I can get on the net where ever I am - Im usually at factories in the countryside. I heard Unicom is good, but does China Mobile do anything to rival that? I like China Mobile over Unicom.
Posted by: ash on April 8, 2007 9:52 PMIt is true that only Unicom provides CDMA access.
Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang (external link) on April 9, 2007 1:35 AMHow can GPRS internet access work for a visitor to China? We would like to bring a notebook with an unlocked (any network) PCMCIA GPRS card and hopefully buy a prepaid SIM, put in the SIM and then have internet access (even if slow). This is so we can get email etc without the security risks of internet cafes or hotel wifi. If not possible on prepaid we might even be able to consider a contract SIM as it could be paid for from a Chinese bank account.
Despite some careful Googling and looking at forum posts, no-one confirms that this can actually be done successfully.
Does anyone have experience of this desirable service?
can i use a phone from overseas to access the gprs network through China Moblie.. I mean, I know the gprs frequencies are different, and even though I have gprs activated on my China Mobile sim card, I can't seem to get online, is it my phone? It is a samsung e250 purchased in South Africa.. does anyone know what I can do to get online with the phone? no one in the retail side of things seems to know, dam asians...
Posted by: Johnson on May 20, 2007 2:45 PMI just got a data plan on my mobile. I pretty much do not need my computer anymore since I do so much with my mobile phone. The neatest thing is that I can even watch naughty movies:) It is pretty neat, it's called Mobile TV. All I do is point my phone to sexoncell.com and they have adult mobile movies in different formats like 3gp movies, symbian, pda or whatever. If you have any other cool sites, please let me know! This one, though, even has a free daily mobile movie.
Posted by: Lostminer (external link) on May 30, 2007 3:45 PMHello, everybody. May anybody tell me what is settings of GPRS (CMNET = China Mobile Internet). I mean APN and etc. And how can I subscribe to the packages of internet?
Posted by: Sergey on July 9, 2007 1:40 PMI'll be useful to give instruction on how to switch basic Level 1 to the level of someone's choice. Access numbers, how to switch to English, e.t.c. Basically new 100 yuan SIM card comes with no instructions at all, even in Chinese.
Currently I'm fighting with such a card :)
vna2re, yes, I agree with you it is challenging to have the card installed for a foreign person. The first challenge will be, many mobile has a cool function (in this case, troublesome function) to automatically switch the interface language to that specified by the carrier or by the SIM card. So many people go nuts when they see the Chinese interface on a mobile but cannot go back to English.
Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang (external link) on July 31, 2007 11:11 PMHi,
How much is the voice rate on these GPRS cards?
Specifically,
i) voice rate in the city of purchase
ii) voice rate in China
iii) voice rate to USA
I may decide to go for the 100 RMB card depending on this ... will be in China for 10 days.
dodo
Posted by: dodo on August 14, 2007 11:37 PMWhat do you mean by "voice rate"? There is no voice service included in these package. It is several from GPRS. You should get your GSM package seperately.
Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang (external link) on August 14, 2007 11:39 PMThanks for your quick answer.
So I can buy two separate packages on the same sim card? One prepaid GSM for voice, and one prepaid GPRS for data?
Posted by: dodo on August 15, 2007 12:42 AMI am interested in learning the answer to Nigels April 29 post regarding the use of prepaid GPRS sim cards on unlocked PCMCIA modem. If anyone knows the answer...
I am also interested to buy a QWERTY phone with prepaid voice and GPRS sim card to use with my msexchange mail in china. I also plan to use the web browser. Can you suggest a specific handset (with English interface) or manufacturer that works well in china? It seems that Dopod is the way to go...???
Are there any english GPS software available for said phone?
Posted by: JWS on August 18, 2007 12:22 PM@JWS, I am afraid I cannot help on the specific question since I am not an expert of phones. Maybe someone else on this board can help.
Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang (external link) on August 19, 2007 1:31 PMhi, i just subscribed to gprs, and my mobile cannot connect to it...
what is the 'service centre address' (telephone number) that i should enter to connect?
Logon failed etc... although the people at china mobile said it is activated...
my phone is sony p1i, bought from hong kong, using in wuxi, china now..
Posted by: ed on September 23, 2007 3:02 PMI have paid for GPRS and world wide roaming through China mobile. In the past I was using a Treo 650 and could always access the internet via China Mobile no matter where I was in the world (US, Thailand, Malaysia). I have transferred my SIM card to a new Tytn 2 phone from HTC. I can get internet while in China and Hong Kong, but Im currently on buisness trip in India and can not access. Is there a special setting which I need to set manally on my phone? Should I be able to access internet while in India?
Posted by: Markos Athineos on September 25, 2007 10:51 PMed,
go to sonyericsson, they can send you the settings for everything...
The link is:
http://www.sonyericsson.com/spg.jsp?cc=global&lc=en&ver=4001&template=ps1_1_1_1&zone=ps&lm=ps1_1&pid=10746
Just select your phone type and they will send you the settings for cmwap, for cmnet, mms, etc, select the proper link on the left side.
Posted by: me on October 25, 2007 6:47 PMhi there,
that's really a good site !!! but i still got a question:
i'd like to send MMS via my SE mobile phone. i have a china mobile mzone prepaid card for guangzhou. could u please tell me the exact settings for sending MMS with it ?? cause the above mentioned link of the SE-site doesn't work :(
thx a lot !!!
cheers
phiL =)
Jianshuo, excellent article! If I had read this entry earlier, then I will have some ideas which package I should subscribe to.
I have been using the Ru Yi Tong SIM Card from China Unicom and it's not that good. Many functions on my phone cannot be used with this SIM card......
I'm addicted to Twitter and it'd be nice to have a package that can send int'l txt msg. :)
Posted by: Cintia on December 4, 2007 5:14 PMGreat site! I have a question similar to Ed and some others. I bought a fantastic new phone (Dopod C730 HK version) in Hong Kong but am living in Wuxi, China. China mobile says my GPRS is all set up for internet. I followed configurations from CM and various sites but still cannot connect on my mobile. Dopod/HTC says I need to manually configure it (which I did) because China is not part of the Network Wizard at startup (when i boot up, I get a message that says my "current operator (46000) is not supported." I'm asked if I want to choose another provider, but China is not on the list). Still, the settings aren't working. Any idea what the problem could be? Here's what I've got:
"Connects to:" Internet/Secure WAP/WAP Network/Work... which one? I've tried each, I think.
"Access Point:" cmwap
"User Name" and "Password" I left blank
"Primary DNS:" ?? empty for now
"Secondary DNS:" ?? empty for now
"IP Address:" 10.0.0.172
There's nowhere to enter a port number or wap.monternet.com
Hmmmmm....
guys,
I need your help. I have here a mobile tv phone china made and I don't know how to configure the WAP and the Internet. Manuals are all in chinese language.
Posted by: nardz on December 17, 2007 11:15 AMHi, I may need to setup a company in China to do with mobile. What is the pay like for an experience IT personal who can take on a CTO's role?
any ideal what is a good online recruitment company to approached?
Posted by: karen on December 22, 2007 8:14 PM@karen, I finally decide not to answer the question like salary range, since currently it does differs greatly. It is not as easy an question to answer like the price of coke.
Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang (external link) on December 22, 2007 8:30 PMDear Sir,
I have bought a fantastic dual sim with 1.3 MP camera Mobile Phone from Mingora Swat, Pakistan but I am unfortunate because the booklet handed over to me is in chinese language. The Phone also can not be connected to internet because this is not registered with most of the cellular service providers. I will be thankful if An English translated book is published and got it registered with cellular service provider companies in Pakistan will help the business. I appreciate the sounds, cameras and touch screen facilities and the most important dual sim function of china mobile.
Thanks
Shah Khalid Muhammad, Lecturer, Department of Management Science COMSATS Institute of Information technology H-8/1, Islamabad, Pakistan
Cell: +923445099924.
Hi,
i bought chinese mobile , but can't use gprs/internet in my country (bahrain). i foundout that all chinese market selling in the market, can;t have internet, as the service providers (zain/batelco) do not support them....is there any way to active gprs/wap/internet on these chinese made phones? there has to be some backdoor or hack for this.
Posted by: bahrainchamp on January 31, 2008 8:14 PMsorry, i have a mobile from china an have this option GPRS CMNET, an i live in tanzania. actually i dont understand about this service.
It means any one who have, she/ he can use it out of CHINA?
also how does this work if i have an e-mail adress as i want to use through my mobile?
thanx,
Posted by: severa on February 6, 2008 6:39 PMI use China Mobile.I want to know my mobile's GPRS setting. So important information [about my china mobile] given below
Modal No. - U90 ,
Company Name - CECT Telecommunication Co. , Ltd. ,
Hi - When I roam anywhere in the region, I can access and synch my work email (outlook) through my smartphone - since I've been in Shanghai the last few weeks, I have not been able to do this... very frustrating!! Is this because there is no 3G network available?? Does anyone else use a Motorola Q9h or Blackberry to access and synch outlook work email in China?? I'll spend the next couple of days in Beijing - maybe 3G is available there??
Hi,
I brought a HTC Tytn II from Singapore for use in Beijing, but was unable to send or receive mms from China Mobile.
I tried setting up whatever information I could find from the net..
Including the Server Name, IP address, website mmsc.monternet.com.
Need some assistance here.
Many thanks!
Kim
Hi,
i bought my HTC Tytn II from hk and am wondering how could i set up the internet and stuff on it? (btw i use china mobile)
thanks a lot!
sam
Posted by: sam on February 26, 2008 4:12 PMHi over there,
If you have any kind of chineese mobile , I am able to help you setting INTERNET and MMS working over GPRS, EDGE, UTMS Or HSDPA norms.
It seems to be very complicated but in reality it is easy.
Please notice that most of these models doesn' support JAVA and other systems such as SIS etc.. I am working on developing JRE and other patches for suitable extensions.
For any information contact me.
Riadh
E-mail:
yangui1@yahoo.com
Mobile:
+21622125610
So, how much does a prepaid card cost and how much money does it include?
I mean, suppose it costs 100RMB, does it include 100RMB or maybe less?
BTW, anyone can confirm that EDGE was deployed in Q4 2007?
Thx!
Posted by: stickman on March 13, 2008 10:57 AMstickman, the SIM card costs 20RMB, and you can get top-up/reload cards for 30/50/100RMB.
It might be slightly more expensive if you get it at the airport.
hey guys, i m having a china TV mobile model no.TITA 321. i m using IDEA sim card.i want to activate internet/wap/gprs whatever it is.i've called custmer care for settings. they had told me to send GPRS H/set model to 4444. i've sent it many times. i've got a message saying that u'll recieve settings shortly. but havnt got that settings yet.i m trying for one month. plz guys help me n plz send me necessary settings. i'll b very greatful to u...plz guys...m waiting for ur answer...
Posted by: Pramod on March 25, 2008 10:13 PMStickman, you can choose RMB 20,50,100 or 200 face value card, there is no addtional costs for the card itself, what you buy is what you can use.
Posted by: susan (external link) on April 2, 2008 12:10 AMThx z & susan, that's what I wanted to know.
Just another question... on the CM website I found this link:
http://www.bj.chinamobile.com/index/engsite/support/gotone/basic/60573/
related to GoTone (全球通,Quánqiútōng) GPRS service, but couldn't find any info on Easyown (神州行, Shénzhōuxíng) prepaid GPRS service.
Are we certain that GPRS is available for Easyown?
Any relevant english links in the China Mobile website for it?
Hi,
I have bought a chinese mobile, gsm with dual sim. I live in India. With the wap I can get connected to the google search. But no other sites works out. What shall I do? Another problem with it: I can't get connected to the net through this phone. I believe I don't have the correct modem script. I think it is a P1i with touchscreen, not of of course of Sony Erickson. Guys, could you offer any help?
Posted by: Dev on April 23, 2008 4:27 PMi have a china mobile "prince a960 but i want a gprs setting that i not getting plesce send me setting on jams_bownd@yahoo.co.in
Posted by: kundan on May 7, 2008 11:24 PMi just called 10086 ... they say cheapest CMWAP package is 40 RMB/month with 300M ... isn't there any information on the internet available ??
Posted by: phil on May 10, 2008 5:42 PM