Beijing's free Wi-Fi service was extended on Monday to cover several bus routes, but some people complained that the service is unreliable and slow.
Some buses, including buses No 99 and No 52, which run around Chang'an Avenue in the capital, recently added free Wi-Fi.
"It's very good news to me because I can kill the time during traffic jams without worrying about the network flow," said Chen Si, a 34-year-old city resident. Chen said he even downloaded a game on Bus 52 on Monday. "This is a very considerate service," he said.
The free Wi-Fi coverage is a pilot project conducted with China Mobile, Beijing Youth Daily reported, and subscribers of the cell phone network will get 20 hours of free Wi-Fi a month.
Commuters on the routes obtain Internet access after inputting their phone number. A user name and password is then sent to their phone in a text message.
A 3 yuan (50 cents) hourly fee will be charged once the subscriber has exceeded the 20 hours of free service.
The pilot project will continue through the end of June. Whether China Mobile plans to extend the project is unclear. Company representatives could not be reached by China Daily for comment on Tuesday.
Despite the free service, some commuters complained about the speed and reliability of the network.
Bai Long, a 26-year-old accountant in Beijing, tested the Internet speed on Monday with his phone and said it was only 80 kb/s.
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