There have been a few reports recently lamenting the price of Internet access in China. The China Daily has now got around to publishing an article comparing the cost of Internet access in China to several developed countries and to India. The results? Well, from where I'm standing, China looks like a bargain. But, then, I'm pretty prosperous by Chinese standards. And fairly happy about that.

The article says the average Chinese netizen pays about RMB83.5 yuan, or a bit over US$10, for Internet access. This compares with $40 in the US, Belgium (Belgium?) and Germany, about US$30 in Japan and Korea, a whopping US$50 in France and Australia, and even US$14 in India.

So far, not bad. Anyone who wants to do the purchasing-power-parity math can tell me how it works. China's urban per-capita disposable income is about US$1,500 per year, so $10 per month seems manageable.

But Internet usage in China is, of course, concentrated in wealthier urban areas. Rural disposable income is only about a quarter of urban. That makes US$10 a month and the price tag of a computer seem a bit heftier. That, in turn, suggests that Internet cafes, which are still a common way of getting online, are not in danger of going anywhere.

Bound up in this argument is how important the Internet is. For rural China, mobile phones may be more useful for individuals, as long as schools can make the Internet available to students. But, alas, that remains something of a pipe-dream in many places.

From my cushy, urban confines in Shanghai, I'll tell you that the Internet seems like a bargain to me here, even considering the obnoxious--although surmountable--pains of censorship. By far, my biggest complaint is crappy speed. I don't know about you, but for US$10 a month in China, I expect my Internet to blaze.

Sigh. Keep dreaming.