Dear Thomas,
On Jan 19, 2013 3:14 PM, "Shujen Chang" <i@blue.cat> wrote:
>
> There's no Wifi support on Chinese train, but I think I can share it via my 3G mobile phone.
What is the 3g coverage like? Presumably the train spends a lot of time going through very rural areas - will you get a signal there?
3G coverage in China is fairly decent I think - if you can have pictures from things like gridlocks on motorways to riots in towns on Weibo or other online forums fairly quickly then you can see that the mobile coverage is extensive. The triopoly of Chinese mobile telecom have worked very hard to blanket the country with 3G signals after their 2G is mostly done. China Mobile is the largest of the three but their 3G is of a national TD-SCDMA which isn't compatible to most 3G phones. However, you can get EDGE almost everywhere you get a China Mobile signal. China Unicom with its WCDMA standard might be concentrated more in urban areas but it's still extensive. China Telecom with its EVDO1x standard is suitable for Americans with their Verizon and Sprint phones.
OTOH, I think Russia is less likely to have any phone signal blanketing the Trans-Siberian as it's a much larger country with a lower population density than China. And Mongolia too. You might consider bringing a satellite modem, which would also come handy if you want to break through the Great Fire Wall in China.
Best regards,
Alan