2
Cable Television
that we
At about the same time
commenced discussions on future telecommunications policy for Hong Kong, cable television became a topic of local interest. For the Hong Kong Telephone Company this was seen as simply another service capable of being carried on its developing telecommunications network and thereby generating new revenues which would, inter alia, enable basic telephone charges to remain as low as possible.
Under the disguise of an interest in cable television, a consortium has been established (comprising the Hutchinson Group and British Telecom) which claims not only that they should have a monopoly of the provision of a cable television service but also that this service should be provided over their own network; in effect a full telecommunications network that would compete with the Hong Kong Telephone Company's network. In the
course of intense lobbying and publicity the Hutchinson/BT consortium have variously claimed that:-
1.
2.
3.
4.
Hong Kong needs a new telecommunications network because it is in Hong Kong's interest that there should be competing networks.
Hong Kong Government should cancel the Hong Kong Telephone Company franchise.
That Hong Kong businesses are not getting (from the Hong Kong Telephone Company) the modern services that they deserve and which would be available if BT were permitted to provide them.
A new network provided for cable television purposes should also be allowed to handle telecommunications services.
-
Competing networks the impact
Competing telecommunications networks exist only in a few locations (USA, UK and Japan) and notably only in locations where there are substantial populations to support them.
In the United Kingdom for example where BT competes with Mercury, competition takes place within a population of over 55 million people;
any argument that similar competing networks can be supported by a population the size of Hong Kong needs very close scrutiny indeed, particularly when the bulk of the Hong Kong Telephone Company's revenue is generated by a very small proportion of its 1.8 million subscribers. Hong Kong's economies of scale simply do not support the concept of an alternative network.
The current network is regulated by the PMG both in terms of quality and tariffs charged. A scheme of control governs the financial returns of the Hong Kong Telephone Company in respect of all basic services. The objective of this regulatory framework has always been to ensure that basic telephone services are available to everyone on demand and at a price that the average person can easily afford.
Any concept of a competing network cuts completely across this social objective and the example of increasing domestic tariffs in both the UK (which now has some of the highest local charges in the developed world) and the USA would inevitably follow in Hong Kong if competing networks were to be contemplated. Almost inevitably arguments for a scheme of control could not be maintained and the size of the Government regulatory body would have to be significantly increased in order to monitor two network suppliers.