Quite a few new developments about Lamma Internet in the new and very active
Islands Broadband Concern Group 離島寬頻關注小組:
- The co. who actually built the HGC fibre network on Lamma (Top Express) is doing tests soon with a cross-Lamma Channel radio link (see details in group above). Home users potentially in a few years, perhaps.
According to 3, the only location on Lamma currently available on their HGC broadband fibre network is
3-4 First Street, Sok Kwu Wan, the building just to the right (see map below) of the middle SKW ferry pier. Checking it out soon...
- PCCW is working on Vectoring Provision for their existing Lamma/Outlying Islands broadband network, according to multiple media reports and internal sources. Double-digit broadband speeds would become possible. Tests could start next year, but might cost at least $5K per home to install.
- A startup might be testing new cross-Lamma channel microwave links next year. Commercial service for end-users in the future, maybe.
In the meantime, I spent much of Saturday afternoon with senior guys in 3 telcos about how to get faster, affordable Internet on Lamma.
Short answer: Any more than the enforced data cap of your mobile plan costs you a lot of extra cash and often has severe speed restrictions (0.1-0.4 Mbps), no Wifi/1 mobile-only, and needs one extra (sometimes several temporary) SIM card(s) in a 2nd mobile phone.
If you're willing and capable to pay a lot more for faster Internet ($500+/month), there are a number of restrictive options from various telco providers.
So I'll have to live with my strict 5+1GB data cap a while longer, at $248.
This means no large up/downloads for me during the day, just at night, via unlimited data on our standard 3Mbps Netvigator broadband ($218). But during the day for everything else, my Wifi hotspot on 4G connection flies. See Speedtest below while typing this post. So I'm currently one of the rare, temporarily quite happy Internet users on Lamma.
We'll be staying here with our great 4G reception and stable PCCW Broadband for at least another 2 years, and then we'll reevaluate. Maybe there'll be other Internet options by then, but I won't hold my breath.
When you're looking at moving flats, always test the 3/4G speed inside the flats, varies from none to great even within the same village house!