1、Free wifi service is available for residents in the downtown area of Hangzhou, capital of East Chinas Zhejiang Province, the first city in China to get the free hookup. However, does it really satisfy demand? Experts say it is difficult with the existing system. Zhang Wan takes a closer look.Accordi
2、ng to the Hangzhou city government, there are 2,000 telecommunication stations covering 220 square kilometers of the citys urban area where the i-hangzhou signal can be found.(upsound) One Hangzhou citizen says he used to use China Mobiles 3G, despite the expense. But with the newly-established free
3、 wifi service in the city, he can access the internet anywhere, anytime.Yang Fusong, deputy director of the Hangzhou economic and information technology commission speaks about the free wifi service.As the first step in providing free wifi, we established 2,000 telecommunication stations, which will
4、 cover outdoor areas, public places, scenic spots and downtown shopping streets.Each telecommunication station will support about 15 users accessing the internet at the same time, with an average internet speed of 2 megabits-per-second.The local government provides wifi service through telecom opera
5、tors. Zhao Zhifeng, vice president of a major telecom operator, explains.Since 2007, the government has invested more than 100 million in the free wifi. The move has brought obvious benefit to people in the city. Based on our statistics at the end of last year, the free wifi service saves people ove
6、r 100 million yuan every year.Apart from Hangzhou, other cities also plan to provide free public wifi across the city. For example, Beijing has announced it will have 200 top level scenic spots and star-rated hotels covered with free wifi service by the end of 2012. However, experts say it is hard t
7、o meet the demand for all mobile internet users. Here is telecommunications expert Xiang Ligang.To establish 2,000 telecommunication stations, we need to invest about three or four million yuan, as each wireless router costs about 1,500 yuan. Although equipment doesnt cost that much, sustaining a la
8、rge-scale free wifi project will be difficult due to high maintenance costs. I believe a few dozen million yuan a year is probably enough for maintenance.Xiang Ligang adds that, currently, the 2,000 telecommunication stations in Hangzhou can only support 30,000 users in the city accessing internet a
9、t the same time. That is to say, most people in the free wifi covered 220-square-kilometer area are not able to access the internet. This means that the key issue facing Hangzhou faces is how to expand telecommunication stations and realize real free wifi coverage.As the local government has promise
10、d to provide free wifi service in the city, users will expect to access the internet anywhere, anytime, as long as they want. However, the fact is that they cant access internet with the free wifi service most of the time.Xiang adds that, due to this discrepancy, a gulf will form between the government promise and users expectations.For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.
