WIRELESS users, fixated on speed, are often misinformed about megabytes, kilobits and the costs of the delivery systems that connect them to the Internet. Are telecom companies getting a bad rap?

Bogus broadband claims in China have become a hot topic among users in the world's biggest Internet market, with a gap emerging between perceptions and reality.

The controversy began with a report issued late last month by the Beijing-based Data Center of China Internet saying that broadband speeds are far lower than telecom operators claim. The report said the cost of broadband on the mainland is unreasonably high - as much as 400 times more than in Hong Kong.

Many consumers were quick to embrace the findings of the report. However, industry officials and technology experts cast doubt on what has come to be popularly called "fake broadband" - a term the report's critics disparage.

Arguments aside, I do think both sides would agree that there are ways broadband services in China could be improved, Internet connections could be made more user-friendly and could provide tools for independently verifying promised speeds. Then too, broadband packages could be expanded to provide more choices in both cost and services.

But back to the report.

The Data Center report said millions of Chinese netizens don't enjoy the speed promised by telecom companies. As of the end of the third quarter, 91 percent of users had broadband speeds of less than 400 kilobits a second though they subscribed to a speed of 4 megabytes per second, or a peak speed of 512 kilobits a second, according to the report.

Misleading report

The center's data also showed that the average 1 megabyte-per-second bandwidth in China costs US$13.10 - four times the cost for equivalent speed in the United States and more than 400 times that of Hong Kong.

Most industry observers don't agree with the report. I think it's misleading.

For one thing, the Data Center collected its data at the end of September - before broadband speed was been greatly enhanced. In Shanghai, for example, broadband bandwidth has been upgraded to 10 megabytes per second or even 20 megabytes, which makes it anywhere from four to 10 times faster than the period covered in the report. Therefore, it's not fair to publish such a report in December with outdated figures.

Secondly, it's impossible for users to enjoy peak speeds in a practical sense because of the detailed bandwidth, the Internet environment and number of users in a specific region. It may be understandable that average consumers don't understand the complexities, but a professional research organization should be well aware of them.

I originally planned to write a critique of the Data Center report and explain its failings in technical reasons. But I changed my mind after a recent radio program.

I was invited last week to participate as a speaker on a China Business News radio panel discussing the fake broadband issue. Through the debate and incoming calls from listeners, I was shocked to discover that most people, even those as educated as lawyers and other professionals, don't have basic knowledge of broadband services. As a result, they really have no idea whether they are receiving the services they pay for.

Speed test

For example, most listeners didn't seem to know the difference between bandwidth and speed. They seem to think the real speed should reach 10 megabits a second if they subscribe to a 10 megabyte broadband service.

Bandwidth, expressed in bytes, simply refers to the capability of Internet speed, but the real speed, expressed in bits, is determined by bandwidth and the Internet environment.

Usually, real speed is about an eighth to a 10th of the claimed bandwidth speed. For example, users of 10 megabytes per second should be getting actual speeds of 400 to 500 kilobits, according to Jiang Junmu, an editor with C114, a professional telecommunications website.

Additionally, I discovered that most radio listeners tuned into the panel discussion didn't know how to test their broadband speeds or determine whether they are normal or too slow.

Actually, some telecommunications carriers, including the Shanghai operations of China Telecom, provide their own testing websites. But there are still no third-party platforms providing such a service.

Telecom companies need to do more to educate users. Beyond that, government regulators, such as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Shanghai Communications Administration, could help out by providing their own speed-testing websites to provide independent analysis.

If speeds are lower than promised, the providers should be required by government to make good on their pledges or compensate consumers.

The media also have a role to play in providing basic knowledge of how broadband works and how consumers can protect their rights.

Lacking exchange

The government has already announced plans to increase Internet access speeds fivefold and cut broadband costs by 2015.

By then, China's average broadband bandwidth will hit 20 megabytes per second in urban areas. In rural areas, bandwidth will reach four megabytes, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has said. China Telecom, the country's biggest fixed-line operator, is supposed to cut broadband costs by 35 percent within five years.

At present, Shanghai's average bandwidth cost is 15 yuan (US$2.34), and Shanghai Telecom has promised to drop that to 3 yuan by 2015. Compare that with the Data Center's US$13.10 in September!

Listeners who called in to the radio panel discussion also complained they had lost the choice of cheaper packages after the network upgrades with faster Internet.

It seems in the Internet realm of telecommunications, "communication" is the thing that's lacking. Carriers and the government need to do a better job of explaining to consumers what is going on.

The fake broadband report may be outdated, but perhaps it has served to underscore some basic problems still besetting the industry.