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back to article Beijing to get free Wi-Fi with obvious strings attached

Over the next five years Beijing will get 480,000 free Wi-Fi hotspots, but using them will require a mobile number and an agreement to have your activities tracked and monitored. The network is being put together by China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, and will be free to use for least the next three years. However, …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    FTFY

    The real concern is that creating a link between a mobile phone number and a web browsing history (plus a physical location) will open the door to a bunch of cops who drag you away.

    2 0
  2. Only me!
    Coat

    That's the exact type of comment that will get you locked up......knock, knock....get your coat!

    0 0
  3. gautam
    FAIL

    Great (Brit) Aint

    At least they can do it.

    Whereas in London, they cant even set it up in the underground, let alone elsewhere, even with the money being offered by Huawei.

    Surely, we are doing (not) something wrong here , even with the Olympics within the year!

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  4. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    McDs are already offering a free Wifi service in China, although it is time limited, and not all McDs are offering it (yet); and handing over a phone number is a legal requirement by the Chinese for all these schemes.

    I used the McD scheme, despite not eating their food (which is ever worse than the UK version), in Guangzhou a few months ago, and yet to have any adverts turn up on my phone; except from Orange UK who want to review my call plan every 4 weeks.

    Every runs China down, but it does have its up sides; for one, some of the cake stores are open 24/7 !!!

    Mines the jacket made by "Redok" with the "Sone" portable TV and Suzili bike keys in the pocket.

    1 0
  5. Graham Marsden
    Big Brother

    "trace those whose online activity might endanger social security"

    ITTM "trace those whose online activity might endanger the positions of a bunch of arrogant and corrupt despotic dictators who know that they will be the first against the wall when the revolution comes...!"

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  6. Long Fei

    Also Starbucks

    As already mentioned, Macs already record your phone number, and also Starbucks (at least here in Beijing) now does this as well.

    I'm just more careful where I visit using these, though I also tend to use a VPN about 95% of the time these days, as so much of the net is blocked otherwise.

    www.ChinarensBlog.com

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  7. Mister P
    Coat

    "with 90,000 hotpots"

    Beijing, Lancs?

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    1. Chris007
      Reply Icon
      Happy

      take yer coat

      and your passport and the next plane out of here.

      that was a terrible joke :)

      0 0
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