Nowadays, using mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets to access the internet has become a common leisure activity for many people. Whether visiting friends or in public places, people habitually search for available Wi-Fi signals. However, you may not be aware that some Wi-Fi services are actually charged.
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Using Wi-Fi on a smartphone to watch shows and receiving a huge phone bill
Ms. Li from Xiaoshan, Zhejiang, recently had to stay in the hospital due to health issues. One day, while lying in bed and using her husband’s phone, she noticed a strong Wi-Fi signal from China Telecom’s ChinaNet. After entering her phone number as prompted, she received a password without any notification of charges. After entering the password, she began browsing the internet to watch TV shows.
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Days later, Ms. Li’s husband received a payment notification, and the “huge phone bill” left them shocked. After calling customer service, they were informed that after using Wi-Fi for over 7 hours, they had incurred 6GB of data usage, resulting in a charge of 1044 yuan.
No Notification of Charges Upon Connection
Ms. Li was certain that she connected to Wi-Fi while watching TV and had turned off her mobile data. Why did they incur such high charges? Customer service stated that this price was already discounted. The bill showed that the internet and data communication fees for November amounted to 1954.56 yuan, with a discount of 954.56 yuan, making the actual charge 1000 yuan. Including the monthly base fee and voice call charges, the total came to 1044 yuan.
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Ms. Li was very upset by this explanation: “Isn’t wireless Wi-Fi supposed to be free? If there are charges, they should inform users at the time of connection. Why wait until the bill arrives to inform us? Isn’t this deceptive?”
From a Thousand Yuan Bill to Just a Few Yuan
Journalists randomly interviewed some mobile users, and the vast majority had never used ChinaNet and were unaware that it was a paid Wi-Fi service. Only one respondent mentioned using it two years ago and remembered it vividly due to the high charges.
Staff at the telecom service center confirmed that Ms. Li’s husband’s phone usage record showed that he used 6.3GB of data for 7 hours. They could reduce the charges for Ms. Li through a data package. The charging standard is 100 yuan for 3GB of data, so 6GB would cost 200 yuan, and the additional 0.3GB would be charged at 20 yuan, totaling 220 yuan. Ms. Li was not satisfied with this solution, insisting that charges should be based on time, as telecom companies charge less for time-based billing.
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Ultimately, after Ms. Li insisted, the telecom company charged her 12.6 yuan for internet usage based on a rate of 3 cents per minute. Thus, the internet fee was reduced from the initial over 1900 yuan to 1000 yuan, then to 220 yuan, and finally to just 12.6 yuan.
How to Use China Telecom’s ChinaNet?
Journalists using a China Telecom iPhone found that after connecting to ChinaNet’s Wi-Fi, a login link would pop up, offering three login methods: mobile account login, Wi-Fi duration card login, and broadband account login. After selecting mobile account login, a password is sent, and after filling it in, the network can be accessed. Throughout the login and usage process, there was no notification about data charges or how fees would be applied.
After prompting from telecom staff, the journalist found a very small “Frequently Asked Questions” section on the login page, which revealed a question about whether charges apply, with the answer being that charges do apply.
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Staff indicated that when using China Telecom’s ChinaNet, the system first deducts any remaining package data from the user’s account, and any excess is charged at a rate of 0.3 yuan per MB. This explains why Ms. Li incurred over 1900 yuan for using more than 6GB of data.
“Previously, there was a time-based charging method at 3 cents per minute, but it is no longer promoted. In the 4G era, we are promoting data-based billing instead,” staff advised users to avoid using ChinaNet lightly.
China Mobile and China Unicom Also Have Charged Wi-Fi
According to China Mobile staff, they currently offer two types of charged Wi-Fi: CMCC and CMCC-WEB, with monthly packages of 5 yuan for 300MB, 10 yuan for 700MB, etc. However, if not on a package or exceeding the package, charges will be 0.1 yuan per MB. Using mobile cellular data costs 0.29 yuan/MB.
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According to China Unicom staff, the charged Wi-Fi service for China Unicom has been discontinued and cannot be reactivated. Those who previously activated the service and have remaining data can still use it. Using China Unicom’s cellular data costs 0.3 yuan per MB.
Additionally, each operator’s charged Wi-Fi is only available to their own mobile customers; mobile users cannot use China Telecom’s charged Wi-Fi.
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(Excerpt from CCTV News Client)
Editor-in-Chief丨Yang Hongguang Editor丨Qiao Liang
