Needy families, the elderly benefit from free broadband upgrades

Over 820,000 Shanghai families have received a free broadband upgrade as part of the city's blueprint to boost digital transformation, the industry regulator and telecommunications officials said.

The offer was one of the "top 10 practical projects for serving the people" in 2021, the Shanghai government said.

The families, many in financial difficulty and with elderly members, could access broadband bandwidth of 100 Mbps, or megabytes per second, by the end of July.

The upgrades, installation, and related telecommunications equipment were provided without cost, local branches of China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom said.

Shanghai has achieved its target of offering upgrades to 800,000 families in 2021, boosting the city's digital transformation and bridging the digital gap, the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization said.

China Telecom's Shanghai branch, the city's biggest broadband service provider, offered free upgrades to 520,000 families in line with its citywide network upgrade.

To bridge the digital gap, especially for the aged community, Shanghai Telecom published a guide textbook on know-how and tips for broadband usage. The carrier also provides on-site consulting to local communities before installation.

China Mobile offered free upgrades to 200,000 families, with special information and support on elderly usage and how to prevent online fraud.

The free upgrades are part of the Digital Partner campaign included in the city's blueprint to boost digital transformation that was released during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2021 in Shanghai in July.

The blueprint targets Shanghai's transformation into a world-class innovative digital hub by 2023, covering 12 special projects and 40 key tasks.

Currently, the city's average broadband bandwidth is 210 Mbps but it will hit 300 Mbps by the end of this year, the fastest city nationwide.

Besides the free upgrades, the city's fastest broadband bandwidth is over 1 Gbps, or gigabyte per second, thanks to the fiber network upgrade.

With improved network infrastructure, carriers have launched new services and applications. They offer smart-home systems and various services in the education, transportation, medical, gaming and elderly-care sectors.