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30 January 2002
Chinese Essay Competition: "My World in the New Telecom Age" Organised by the Office of the Telecommunications
Authority
Supported by HKeducationCITY.net
and the Education Department In line with the objective to enhance consumers' understanding
of how best they can make use of new telecommunications services
to their benefits, and in order to encourage Hong Kong people,
particularly the new generation, to express their views on telecommunications
services available now and those to be available in the future,
the Office of the Telecommunications Authority ("OFTA")
is organising a Chinese Essay Competition entitled "My World
in the New Telecom Age" as a key component of OFTA's newly
launched series of promotional and educational activities.
Supported by the HKeducationCITY.net and the Education
Department, the Essay Competition is divided into two categories:
1) Secondary Schools and 2) Open Competition. Participants are
invited to express their views in an essay of 500 - 1,000 words,
expanding on how new telecommunications services have contributed
to changes in their everyday life and that of their families.
With more innovative telecom and IT technologies, what is their
vision of the future? What are their expectations?
Judging of the entries will be based
on the contributors' knowledge of telecommunications services,
writing skills, creative thinking and insight. On the judging
panel are:
- The Hon Sin Chung Kai, Chairman, Panel on Information Technology
and Broadcasting, Legislative Council
- Mr Y K Ha, Assistant Director, OFTA
- Mr M She, Principle Inspector, Education Department
- Professor PC Wong, Department of Information Engineering,
Chinese University of Hong Kong and Project Director, HKeducationCITY.net
Prizes for winners (for each category)
| Grand prize |
: |
Nokia 8310 mobile phone |
| 1st runner-up |
: |
Palm PDA (Vx model) |
| 2nd runner-up |
: |
HK$1,000 book coupons |
Plus a number of Merit awards (telecom
or computer accessories)
Parties interested in joining the competition
are invited to visit OFTA's web site at: www.ofta.gov.hk or
the web site of HKeducationCITY.net.
Deadline for entries: 20 February 2002.
General enquiries:
Ms Amy Yip (Tel: 8102 4100 /
e-mail:
)
Media enquiries:
Ms Jessica Choy (Tel: 2961 6221
/ e-mail:
)
Office of the Telecommunications Authority
30 January 2002
17 January 2002
OFTA & Police Mounted Successful Raiding Operations
against Illegal Sale of cellular
phones
and Unauthorized Cable TV Decoders Subsequent to an operation mounted in last December, the
Police and the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA)
successfully mounted a joint raiding operation against the illegal
sale of cellular phones and unauthorized cable TV decoders this
(17 January 2002) afternoon in the Shamshuipo area. More than
40 persons from the Police and OFTA were deployed for the operation.
A total of 20 cellular phones and 304 suspected unauthorized
decoders were seized and 7 persons were taken to the police station
to assist in further investigation.
Under the Telecommunications Ordinance, no person
shall deal in the course of trade or business in radiocommunications
equipment without a licence granted by the Telecommunications
Authority. The offender, once convicted, is liable to a fine
of HK$100,000 and to imprisonment for 5 years. Similarly, according
to the Broadcasting Ordinance, a person shall not, in the course
of trade or business, import, export, manufacture, sell, offer
for sale or let for hire an unauthorized (TV) decoder. The offender,
once convicted, is liable to a fine of HK$1,000,000 and to imprisonment
for 5 years.
"Radio dealers are reminded to first apply
for the Radio Dealer Licence from the Authority before they start
business in selling radiocommunications equipment," a spokesperson
of OFTA said.
OFTA warned traders not to sell unauthorized
TV decoders because OFTA will keep monitoring the situation and
take prompt enforcement action. OFTA also advised consumers not
to buy any unauthorized decoders from illegal sellers. The cable
television company, Hong Kong Cable Television Ltd. (HKCTV),
has already started migrating its existing analogue transmission
system to digital. The new system will provide a sophisticated
encryption arrangement so as to protect HKCTV's programmes from
being decoded by illegal TV decoders. All illegal TV decoders
being on sale will become useless and consumers buying such unauthorized
decoders will suffer from financial loss when the decoder becomes
useless.
Office of the Telecommunications Authority
17 January 2002
11 January 2002
Telecommunications Authority to
Implement Full Liberalization of
Fixed Telecommunications Services
Market from 1 January 2003
The Telecommunications Authority (TA) today (Friday, 11
January 2002) announced details on the implementation of the
Government's firm policy to fully liberalize the fixed line telecommunications
network services (FTNS) market from 1 January 2003.
"After studying the twenty-three submissions
received during the consultation in November 2001, we have finalized
the detailed arrangement for implementing the policy of full
liberalization of the FTNS market. We are now ready to invite
applications for licences," said Mr Anthony Wong, the TA.
It is the Government's established policy to fully
liberalize the fixed telecommunications market from January 2003.
The TA affirms the benefits of liberalization to Hong Kong.
"Liberalization of the telecommunications
market is the international trend. We believe that a fully liberalized
market will best promote the development of the telecommunications
market, and protect consumers and business interests. Indeed,
Hong Kong has benefited substantially from our liberalization.
IDD charges dropped significantly; consumers saved an estimated
HK$9.4 billion in 1999 and 2000. The monthly rental of an international
private leased circuits between Hong Kong and the Mainland with
a capacity of 2 Megabits per second, for example, has dropped
from HK$140,000 to HK$20,000 since 2000, which is a drop of 86%."
"With ten local fixed telecommunications
network operators, broadband service has improved and become
all the more innovative. The number of broadband subscribers
surges from 51,000 in February 2000 to 543,000 in October 2001,
an increase of more than 10-fold in less than two years. The
average monthly rental of broadband service is in the region
of HK$200, one of the cheapest in the world. More customers of
fixed telephone services are also having alternative suppliers
who are offering monthly rentals ranging from HK$48 to HK$88," elaborated
Mr Wong.
The TA therefore sets out in his Statement how
he will implement the full liberalization policy and issues the
Guidelines for the application of licences, after taking into
account the representations made by the industry and the public.
"Under the full liberalization policy, there
will be no pre-set limit on the number of licences to be issued,
and there is no time limit for licence applications," explained
Mr Wong.
Majority of representations received support in
principle the full liberalization policy and that there should
be no pre-set limit on the number of licences to be issued. The
TA however notes the concerns raised in some submissions about
the need to ensure that new operators are genuine investors in
Hong Kong's telecommunications market. In considering the applications
for licences, he will take into account the benefit of the proposed
network to the community. More specifically, they are the type
of services to be offered, the intended coverage areas, the reasonableness
of the business plans and the financial capability of the applicant
to fulfill the capital expenditure requirement. As a safeguard,
these key elements in the submissions of the applicants will
be incorporated as licence conditions.
Moreover, the TA will not consider granting any
fixed carrier licences to those applicants who intend to primarily
rely on interconnection and wholesale services of other operators'
infrastructure to roll out their network or provision of their
services. Carrier licences are issued to those operators who
establish and maintain telecommunications networks for carrying
communications.
"By doing so, we will ensure that only serious
players will be granted a carrier licence for operation of the
FTNS services. Granting of rights to new entrants to open roads
and to access to buildings will be carried out in an orderly
manner, supported by OFTA to facilitate and co-ordinate," supplemented
Mr Wong.
"In a fully open market with no pre-set limit
on the number of licences to be issued, the network rollout and
the level of investment by an operator should be decided by the
market. Therefore the Government will not require any commitments
on rollout nor capital expenditure," continued Mr Wong.
The Government's policy is, and will continue
to be, to promote investment in telecommunications infrastructure
and facilities-based competition. The investment, however, must
be determined by market forces in a fully liberalized market.
On the other hand, the TA agrees with some representations
that if the Government will not require performance commitments
from the new entrants, the Government should ensure a level playing
field as some of the existing licensees have performance commitments
that bind them beyond January 2003.
"Having considered the submissions made by
the industry, we agree to waive all performance commitments of
existing FTNS licensees that will be due on or after 1 January
2003 in accordance with the licences initially issued. This is
necessary to have a level playing field between new and existing
operators," said Mr Wong.
The TA also confirms that activities proposed
in the consultation to facilitate the preparation work of the
new entrants should be allowed, provided that the new entrants
are granted with fixed carrier licences to operate local fixed
wireline-based networks as from 1 January 2003.
The external FTNS operators, whether they own
the capacity or acquire capacity through purchase of Indefeasible
Rights of Use (IRUs), will also benefit from the full liberalization
policy as from January 2003. They may modify the scope of services
of their existing external licences to provide their own backhaul
circuits connecting the landing points of their external facilities
with their external gateways. If they are to connect to the customers
in the Hong Kong or to supply backhauls to other licensees, they
will have to apply for a fixed carrier licence, and subject to
the same licensing criteria for the new fixed carrier licensees,
such as to provide public telecommunications services at both
the wholesale and retail level.
"A competitive market will best facilitate
the decisions of the external FTNS operators on the 'build' or
'buy' option," commented Mr Wong.
In response to suggestions by some quarters that
the Government may consider reviewing the timetable for full
liberalization, Mr Wong said, "Like other sectors, the telecommunications
market is affected by fluctuations in the global economy. However
to delay the implementation of the announced policy on liberalization
will be detrimental to the development of the telecommunications
industry in the long run. It will also send a wrong signal to
the international and local business community. Nor will it benefit
consumers and business users."
The Government started liberalizing the local
FTNS market in 1995 and issued three new licences. We progressively
liberalized the various sectors of the market in 1999 and 2000.
Hitherto, all sectors of the telecommunications market, local
or external, services-based or facilities-based, have been opened
to competition. It is the considered and well-balanced decision
announced in May 1999 that we should fully liberalize our market
as from 1 January 2003.
"We are firmly committed to the full liberalization policy. By implementing
this final but important step, it will help consolidate Hong Kong's status as
a telecommunications and Internet hub in Asia. Our role is to ensure that in
a fully liberalized telecommunications market, the regulatory regime is pro-competition,
transparent and level playing. Hong Kong has our strength and competitive edge
in this regard, and we must maintain them. This will best attract investment
and facilitate business decisions," concluded Mr Wong.
Supplementary Note
The following documents can be downloaded from
the homepages of the Office of the Telecommunications Authority
(http://www.ofta.gov.hk)
or the Information Technology and Broadcasting Bureau (http://www.info.gov.hk/citb/ctb/)
:
i) the TA Statement on Implementation
of the Full Liberalization of the Local Fixed Telecommunications
Network Services Market from 1 January 2003;and
ii) the Guidelines for Submission of Proposals
Applying for Fixed Carrier Licences or Modifying Scopes of Services
of FTNS or Fixed Carrier Licences for the Operation of Fixed
Telecommunications Network Services from 1 January 2003.
Office of the Telecommunications Authority
11 January 2002
11 January, 2002
Press Release Issued by Information
Technology and Broadcasting Bureau (ITBB) on 11 January 2002
Consultation on the reduction of licence fee for mobile carrier
licences
The Information Technology and Broadcasting Bureau
today (January 11) invites views from the telecommunications
industry and the public on the Consultation Paper on the Reduction
of Licence Fee for the Mobile Carrier Licences. The invitation
was published today in accordance with section 7(3) of the Telecommunications
Ordinance (Cap. 106).
After considering the representations made during
the consultation exercise, the Secretary for Information Technology
and Broadcasting may by regulations prescribe the reduced fees
payable for a mobile carrier licence under section 7(2) of the
Ordinance.
"The Government proposes to reduce the licence
fee for the mobile carrier licences from HK$30 to HK$25 per mobile
station per year with effect from 1 May 2002", a spokesman
for the bureau said.
Apart from the licence fee payable by the mobile
carrier licences, the Government also intends to reduce the licence
fees payable for the public radio communications services (PRS)
licences and for the public non-exclusive telecommunications
service (PNETS) licences to the same level and at the same time.
Part of the licence fees of all these three licences are payable
on the basis of the number of mobile stations used by customers
of the service.
"We expect that paging companies, radiolocation
service operators, trunked radio operators and mobile virtual
network operators will benefit from the proposed fee reduction," the
spokesman added.
As for the mobile operators, apart from introducing
the lower fee, the Government will calculate the amount of licence
fee payable by the operators based on the total number of customers,
whether they are post-paid customers or using pre-paid Subscriber
Identity Module (SIM) cards. With the advancement in technology
and changes in consumer pattern, the use of prepaid SIM cards
has become more prevalent. The number of prepaid SIM cards surged
from 42,335 in 1997 (representing two per cent of total number
of mobile customers) to 1,061,052 in 2000 (representing 20 per
cent of total number of mobile customers). Customers may now
buy prepaid SIM cards and use them with mobile handsets directly
procured from the market without opening subscription accounts.
As the basis for collecting the licence fee is based on mobile
stations used by customers, the practice of mobile operators
excluding the activated prepaid SIM cards should be changed.
The number of activated prepaid SIM cards is estimated to be
around 770,000 in 2000.
"The change will ensure a fair method in
calculating the licence fee payable by the mobile operators," the
spokesman explained.
It is the Government's assessment that, by implementing
this change in ascertaining the licence fee together with a reduction
in licence fee for mobile station, the proposed arrangement should
be become revenue neutral for operators. In other words, the
Government will not collect more licence fee from the mobile
operators.
"We seek to come up with a full proposal
that best helps the mobile operators. As the licence fee payable
by mobile operators will be more or less the same as before,
we do not expect consumers to be affected by the change," the
spokesman elaborated.
In order that the proposed reduction in licence
fees may become effective as from 1 May 2002, the Government
will introduce the proposed regulations to the Legislative Council
as soon as practicable after the completion of the consultation
exercise. Copies of the Consultation Paper are available at the
Information Technology and Broadcasting Bureau and headquarters
of the Office of the Telecommunications Authority, or by downloading
from the homepages of these two offices: http://www.info.gov.hk/citb/ctb/ or http://www.ofta.gov.hk
Representations should be made in writing and
should reach the Information Technology and Broadcasting Bureau
by 1 February 2002. Submissions may be sent by post to Information
Technology and Broadcasting Bureau, 2/F., Murray Building, Garden
Road, Hong Kong, or by fax to 2511 1458, or by e-mail to
.
The Secretary reserves the right to publish any representations
received, whether in whole or in part, and to reveal the identity
of each submission.
Background
The Government proposes to reduce those licence
fees payable on "the number of mobile stations used by customers
of the service" from HK$30 to HK$25 per year with effect from
1 May 2002. This will include fees payable under :
(a) the mobile carrier licences - the four 3G
operators hold this licence;
(b) the public radiocommunications service (PRS)
licences - the six 2G operators, operators of trunked radio services,
radiolocation services and paging services hold this licence;
and
(c) the public non-exclusive telecommunications
service (PNETS) licences - the mobile virtual network operators
hold this licence.
The fees are collected by the Office of Telecommunications
Authority (OFTA) Trading Fund to recover its cost. To effect
the proposed reduction, the Government needs to amend the Telecommunications
(Carrier Licences) Regulation which prescribes the fee for the
mobile carrier licences, and to amend the Telecommunications
Regulations which prescribes the fee for PRS licences. The Telecommunications
Authority is empowered to set the licence fee for PNETS licence.
Before amending the Telecommunications (Carrier
Licences) Regulation, the Government is required by the Telecommunications
Ordinance to, by notice in the Gazette, consult members of the
public who are interested in the matter.
End/Friday, January 11, 2002
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