Hong Kong’s market-driven approach has fostered an innovative and competitive telecommunications industry, comprising local, mainland China and overseas operators who are making investment in facilities and developing new services and products to satisfy a community that is receptive to the rollout of new technology.
Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Frederick Ma addressed an April 24 plenary session on changing market profiles and flexible regulatory frameworks at the 7th APEC Ministerial Meeting on Telecommunications and Information Industry (TELMIN 7) in Bangkok, Thailand.
Mr. Ma pointed out that virtually all aspects of the telecommunications market in Hong Kong are fully liberalized. “There is no pre-determined quota of licenses for any kind of telecommunications service operators. There has also been no investment restriction imposed on foreign entities owning telecommunications facilities or operating telecommunications services in Hong Kong,” he said.
“Hong Kong consumers are enjoying the fruits of a liberalized telecommunications market, which is light-handedly regulated. Hong Kong’s telecommunications market is one of the most competitive in the world,” said Mr. Ma, noting that there was a rollout of multiple end-to-end telecommunications networks offering true facilities-based competition in the market.
Five fixed network operators are competing with each other at the retail level, providing voice, broadband and pay TV services on a standalone or bundled basis to end customers. There are also five mobile networks, which all offer multimedia services in addition to the basic voice and data services.
As of November 2007, out of the 2.5 million households in Hong Kong, 79% were connected by at least two end-to-end networks self-built by the operators, thus allowing choice for the consumers. Meanwhile, 55% of the local households were connected to at least three networks, which made Hong Kong unique in the world.
Mr. Ma pointed out that in the early 1990s, the government already recognized that the competitiveness of Hong Kong’s telecommunications market would reinforce the overall competitiveness of its economy, and thus embarked on a journey of market liberalization.
Looking ahead, Mr. Ma noted that new issues would surface as market and technology develop. On the realization of fixed-mobile convergence, he said the government would provide a conducive regulatory framework by proposing a licensing structure that would enhance operators’ flexibility in the provision of their services.
“To facilitate the introduction of advanced technology and more efficient services, we will keep monitoring the market trend and reviewing our licensing regime to ensure that we do not inadvertently become an obstacle to market development, ” he said.
He said the government was monitoring closely the development of the Next Generation Network (NGN), which will integrate fixed, mobile and data networks, and have an impact on future regulatory framework. The government will create an environment to facilitate the transition to NGN when necessary.
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