When you playing by network, the further you are from each other, the more game slows down. Therefore, try to choose a second player from your cities, and better neighbors;
To start a network game, you need to select 'Two Player via Internet', copy the link and send it to the second player, or put it in the 'Public Chat' and agree to play;
If you see the message 'Waiting for connection...', and the game doesn't start for a long time, perhaps, the second player prematurely close the page with the game or the configuration of your network doesn't establish P2P connection. You can test the network at http://cc.rtmfp.net;
If you want to Sign Up, start a game, click save game state and you'll see the Sign Up dialog;