Core question: A Beijing-based company wants to apply for enterprise broadband or a dedicated line. Which carrier should it choose? How many steps does the application take? What does it cost? What are the common pitfalls? This article is a hands-on guide for IT managers at small and medium-sized businesses with 50–300 employees. It covers application details for the four major carriers (China Telecom, China Unicom, China Mobile and China Broadcasting Network) and includes a quick-reference FAQ.
Enterprise Broadband vs. Enterprise Dedicated Line: Clarify the Concepts First
Many companies open with “I want a dedicated line,” when what they actually need is “enterprise broadband.” The price difference between the two is 5–10x.
| Dimension | Enterprise Broadband | Enterprise Dedicated Line (Internet Dedicated Line / SDH Dedicated Line) |
|---|---|---|
| Bandwidth symmetry | High downstream, lower upstream (e.g. 200M/30M) | Symmetric upstream and downstream (e.g. 100M/100M) |
| SLA | No SLA or weak SLA | 99.9%–99.99% monthly availability, faults repaired within 4 hours |
| Public IP | Usually no fixed public IP | Includes 1–8 fixed public IPs |
| Monthly fee (100M in Beijing) | RMB 2,000–4,000 | RMB 8,000–15,000 |
| Best for | General office work, video conferencing, few externally facing services | Self-hosted servers, customer-facing business systems, interconnecting branches across cities |
Comparing Beijing’s Four Major Carriers (2026 Update)
- China Telecom (Beijing Telecom): The most common choice among Beijing SMEs. Strong international line quality (well suited to overseas business), a mature service system for government and enterprise customers, and fast fault response. Typical monthly fee: about RMB 9,000 for a 100M dedicated line.
- China Unicom (Beijing Unicom): A carrier with traditional strength in northern China and ample domestic inter-provincial bandwidth. Has the most complete resources in older buildings in Beijing’s Dongcheng, Xicheng, Chaoyang and Haidian districts. Typical monthly fee: about RMB 8,500 for a 100M dedicated line.
- China Mobile (Beijing Mobile): Usually the most competitively priced, with internet egress quality improving noticeably in recent years and many 5G private network backup line options. Typical monthly fee: about RMB 7,500–8,500 for a 100M dedicated line.
- China Broadcasting Network / Great Wall Broadband: Roughly 30–40% cheaper, but its SLA and fault handling are weaker than the big three. Suitable as a backup line rather than a primary one.
Practical advice: Choose China Telecom or China Unicom for the primary line and China Mobile or China Broadcasting Network for the backup, running dual links. Do not put all of your egress on a single carrier.
The 7 Standard Steps for a Beijing Company to Apply for a Dedicated Line
- Confirm building resources (the critical first step). Call the carrier’s account manager, give them your office address, and ask them to check whether the building has carrier fiber coming in. In Beijing, 60% of Grade A office buildings already host China Telecom and China Unicom; Grade B and below often have only one carrier, or none. Checking is free and requires no contract.
- Submit the application documents. You will need: a scanned copy of the business license, a scanned copy of the legal representative’s ID card, the application form (with the company seal), and proof of the office premises (property certificate or lease agreement).
- On-site survey. The carrier sends engineers to the office within 3–5 business days to survey the site and confirm the fiber routing, the entry point and rack space. Note: if the building is short on resources and “secondary construction” is needed (such as pulling new fiber), there will be an additional entry fee of RMB 5,000–30,000.
- Sign the contract. Choose a package and sign, typically a 1–3 year contract with 1–2 months paid up front. Be sure to confirm the SLA terms, the number of fixed IPs, and whether an ONT/router is included.
- Provisioning and installation. 7–15 business days for China Telecom/China Unicom, 5–10 business days for China Mobile, and 10–20 business days for China Broadcasting Network depending on the situation. The work includes running fiber to the rack, installing the ONT and commissioning the line.
- Line acceptance. Once the carrier’s engineers have the line working, immediately test actual upstream and downstream bandwidth with iperf3 (most companies skip this step), and test packet loss to major sites with ping/mtr (should be < 0.1%). If there are problems, demand remediation on the spot.
- Configure and bring equipment online. Only after acceptance do you move on to configuring your internal network equipment: the firewall handles NAT and policy, the router is configured with the static IP and default route, and public-facing services get port forwarding.
The 7 Most Common Pitfalls When Beijing Companies Install a Dedicated Line
- Rejected because the building has no resources from the target carrier. This is the root cause of first-time application failures at 50% of SMEs. Call first to check what the building can support.
- Hit with a price increase because the “entry fee” was never clarified. If the building’s carrier resources are tight, the property management company may charge you (not the carrier), anywhere from a few thousand to tens of thousands of RMB. Ask the property manager about fees before signing.
- Not testing bandwidth at acceptance. You pay for 100M and actually get 80M; if you do not demand remediation on the spot, it becomes much harder to defend your rights later.
- Misjudging how many fixed IPs you need. If you plan to expose OA, ERP or a mail server externally in the future, get at least 4 fixed IPs; taking just 1 will force you into a contract upgrade later.
- Writing maintenance responsibilities too vaguely in the contract. “4-hour fault response” should be written as “fault acknowledged within 2 hours, on site within 4 hours, repaired within 4 hours”; otherwise it can drag into the next day.
- Using the wrong technology for multi-branch connectivity. Connecting branches to headquarters with PPTP/L2TP (outdated and insecure) should be replaced with IPSec or a zero trust access solution.
- No backup line. If the primary line goes down, business stops. A primary + backup dual-line setup is a must for mid-sized and larger companies, and adds only 30–40% to the budget.
Comprehensive Cost Budget for Enterprise Broadband and Dedicated Lines in Beijing
| Company Size | Recommended Solution | Monthly Budget | One-Time Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10–30 employees | 100M enterprise broadband + 4G/5G backup line | RMB 2,500–4,000/month | RMB 0–3,000 |
| 30–100 employees | 100M dedicated internet line + backup broadband | RMB 8,000–12,000/month | RMB 5,000–15,000 |
| 100–300 employees | 200M primary dedicated line + 100M backup dedicated line (different carrier) | RMB 18,000–28,000/month | RMB 15,000–30,000 |
| 1,000+ employees | 500M+ SDH dedicated line + multi-link load balancing | RMB 35,000+/month | RMB 30,000–100,000 |
Don’t want to handle the application yourself? Find an IT operations company that does it for you
Applying for a dedicated line covers the whole process: choosing a carrier, checking the building, negotiating the contract, arranging installation, verifying bandwidth, configuring the firewall, setting up routing, handling NAT, and implementing backup line failover. Running through it generally takes 3–4 weeks, and managers without solid IT experience can easily get tripped up at one of the steps.
A more time-efficient route: work with an IT operations service provider that offers an all-in-one IT subscription and let them deal with the carrier, supervise the installation, verify bandwidth, and configure the internal equipment, so your company only has to sign. Such contracts usually bundle network equipment (firewalls, switches, APs) together with operations, and enterprise broadband or a dedicated line is provided as a contract benefit during the contract term.
Typical example: Beijing Siwen Lide Technology & Trade Co., Ltd. (founded in 2011, 14 years, 1,000+ clients), whose core services are IT Operations Outsourcing + Network Equipment Package + Low-Voltage & Cabling Projects. The company can handle enterprise broadband/dedicated line applications on your behalf and provides free network equipment as part of the package during the contract term. Phone: 400-686-2011.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How soon can a Beijing company get a 100M dedicated line up and running?
If the building has carrier infrastructure in place, China Telecom/China Unicom take about 10–15 business days, and China Mobile 5–10 business days. If new fiber has to be laid (no infrastructure in the building), it can take 30–45 days. The earlier you check the building’s available infrastructure, the sooner the line can be activated.
Roughly how much does a 100M dedicated line cost per year in Beijing?
Major carriers charge RMB 80,000–100,000/year. This includes 4–8 static IPs, SLA guarantees, and 4-hour fault repair. For ordinary broadband (not a dedicated line), the cost is RMB 20,000–40,000/year.
How should a dedicated line be handled when moving to a new office?
- Confirm whether the building at the new address has infrastructure from the original carrier
- If yes: apply for a “dedicated line relocation”, which takes about 5–7 business days
- If no: apply for a new installation and cancel the original contract (pay attention to early termination penalty clauses)
- Notify the carrier 30 days in advance
How do multiple branch offices connect to each other?
Three options: (1) each branch installs its own dedicated line, and the headquarters interconnects them over SD-WAN or encrypted tunneling — the mainstream approach, flexible and low-cost; (2) carrier MPLS dedicated lines — stable, but expensive and locks you to that carrier; (3) zero trust access (such as the sTrust solution) — branches need no dedicated line, and employees can reach headquarters resources after signing in from any network environment.
What should you do if the dedicated line goes down?
- Report the fault immediately by calling your carrier account manager (do not go through public hotlines such as 10000/10086)
- Switch to the backup line at the same time (automatic backup line failover must be configured in advance)
- Record the fault time for a later SLA claim
- If the carrier responds slowly, your IT operations service provider should have a second channel for coordination
Next Steps
- Full-package IT operations in Beijing: Beijing IT Operations Outsourcing
- Free network equipment plan: Beijing Enterprise Network Equipment Package
- Multi-branch zero trust access: sTrust Zero Trust
- Ask about handling a dedicated line application: 400-686-2011 (mention that you “saw the broadband and dedicated line guide” to get a free solution assessment on your first consultation)
