Prepaid data - for visitors to Hong Kong

A few years ago I had written about various prepaid mobile data options in Hong Kong.  That post is probably quite out of date, however I do note that several of the links do still work, although the packages may not look that competitive anymore.

Recently I had a various friends and family visiting from abroad so it gave me good opportunity to see what the best deals were in Hong Kong for them to “stay connected”, rather than just make phone calls (which basically involved walking into any 7-11 and picking from a plethora of sim card choices).

Mobile providers

Using a prepaid sim card from a mobile provider is probably the cheapest way of getting mobile data.  This entails buying a sim card and putting it in your phone / tablet.  Out of the several mobile providers in Hong Kong I think China Mobile and CSL one2free offer the best packages for travellers.

Both providers offer prepaid data cards with unlimited usage for various periods of time [the “unlimited” is subject to a fair usage policy].  The cards come loaded with credit as well (however do note that both providers have monthly administrative charges of about HK$2 a month that is automatically deducted upon first activation).

Subscribing for the data is very easy with both providers, either by dialing in or sending codes.  The information is stated on the literature that you buy with the sim card.  Both providers offer sim card choices that work with phones that take mini and micro sim cards, when purchasing just double check though.  One2free also offer a sim pack compatible with nano sim handsets.  I should add, these sim card deals also allow for phone calls and text messages (depending on if you have enough credit).

China Mobile

China Mobile (or Peoples, which it is sometimes known as) offers a range of prepaid cards, all of which come with the option of subscribing for unlimited data for 1 day at HK$9, 1 week at HK$38 and 1 month at HK$78.  The price of purchase of the sim cards range from HK$28 to HK$98 and are readily available in most 7-11’s in Hong Kong, including at Hong Kong airport.  China Mobile sometimes run promotions so the cost of the sim card is actually cheaper than its face value.

One thing to note about China Mobile’s prepaid offerings though, is that the data speeds run at the slower GPRS network and will only work on GSM phones that support the 1800MHz band (which in reality is most modern GSM smartphones).  This sim card would be ideal for someone who just wants to check their emails and use group messaging apps, rather than heavy web browsing or streaming.  The APN is “peoples.net”.

An overview of the various China Mobile prepaid products can be found here: http://www.hk.chinamobile.com/p_prepaid_supertalk_en.jsp.


one2free

Like China Mobile, one2free offers a range of sim packs, with the ability to subscribe for unlimited data for 1 hour at HK$8, 1 day at HK$28 and 1 week at HK$78.  One2Free also offers 30 day passes with various volume based limits: 300MB at HK$38, 1GB at HK$88, 3GB at HK$148 and 5GB at HK$258.  The price of purchase of the sim cards range from HK$48 to HK$188 and are readily available in most 7-11’s in Hong Kong, and CSL has a shop at Hong Kong airport.

While the sim card packs on offer by one2free are more expensive than China Mobile, they work on the much faster HSDPA network with a maximum download speed of 7.2Mbps.  The APN is “hkcsl”.

An overview of the one2free prepaid products can be found here:
http://one2free.hkcsl.com/jsp/prepaid_sim_card/o2f_local_prepaid_sim/card_features/card_features.jsp

one2free also offer a prepaid option for blackberry services.  This is not available on their website, however, they have a press release detailing the costs: one2free prepaid Blackberry service.  It works out at HK$120 for 1 week or HK$460 for 30 days.  This sim is probably only available through CSL shops.

Note, CSL does have a shop at Hong Kong Airport, Unit 7T083, Level 7, Departure Hall.


Phone Rental

A relatively new service called Handy offers to rent you out either a Samsung Galaxy Note or a Galaxy Nexus phone for HK$68 a day with unlimited HSDPA data, tethering, unlimited local calling and unlimited international calling to about 17 destinations.  Handy runs on the SmarTone network.  You can install your own apps and fill in your own account information for various apps.  After you return the device, it is securely wiped, however this is something you may want to do in advance before returning the device.


Wifi

Hong Kong has many many paid and free wifi spots.  Wifi spots can be found in shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, cafes, bars and even certain busses and ferries just to name a few places.  Some of these are free with open connections, while some are still free but require a passwords.  It is often the case that hotels will charge for the use of wifi.  Unfortunately there is no central source for finding free wifi spots around Hong Kong.  

Hong Kong Extras provides a helpful list of wifi options in Hong Kong (both free and paid): Internet Access for Visitors.  [As is the case in Hong Kong, information changes very quickly, so do check on the links provided at Hong Kong Extras to confirm if the relevant information is up to date.]

Of note is the free wifi offered by the Hong Kong government, which covers 2,000 hotspots.  A wifi finder is here: http://www.gov.hk/en/theme/wifi/location/

There are two main paid wifi providers in Hong Kong: PCCW and Y5Zone.  PCCW has the most comprehensive network in Hong Kong, covering more than 10,000 hotspots, while Y5Zone has over 6,500 hotspots.

PCCW offers several different plans including a 1 day prepaid pass at HK$20 and a 30 day prepaid pass at HK$158.  These passes can be purchased from 7-11’s and PCCW shops.

Y5Zone also offer several prepaid passes: 1 day at HK$20, 5 days (non-consecutive days) at HK$39 (all 5 days must be used up within 1 month) and 1 month for HK$98.  You can purchase the passes online.

The Hong Kong government maintains a map of all registered public wifi hotspots here: http://www1.map.gov.hk (click on “Category”, “Registered WiFi Access Points” and then you can do a search).


Closing

The above is based on my own research, as is always the case, the information may change over time.  I’ve tried to make it as comprehensive as possible, however, I am sure I have missed out some useful information, so please to let me know if I have.

Hopefully the above will help visitors in Hong Kong to stay connected, easier for you to get hold of them when they are in Hong Kong and hopefully avoiding expensive international call and text costs.