Signing up for cheap and fast Internet is simple and easy

China's telecommunications industry is dominated by three state-run businesses: China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile.

You first need to find out which telecom services your specific building/complex subscribe to, and look online for the latest specials and deals. Or directly head down to your local Internet dealership.

China Telecom is the biggest provider of Internet services in Shanghai. Make sure to bring your passport to sign up for the service.

There are different plans and they're clearly indicated on https://www.189.cn/fj_np/. Look for the 3,000-yuan (US$410) per year package to get 1000Mbps speed, or 5,800 yuan for a two-year package. There are also cheaper plans according to different requests.

Though Shanghai's been upgrading its communication infrastructure, some buildings and neighborhoods are still unable to support higher speeds yet. The employees at the Internet dealership will be able to tell if your address can be supported.

You can also choose to get a family package. For example, the 599-yuan-per-month deal includes 300GB of data and 3,000 minutes of calls. But there are also minor plans for families as well.

There are a variety of Internet packages to choose from with each provider, so the best way to set up or upgrade the Internet is heading to go to the service counter and make your request.