A
CONFIDENTIAL
Extract from
MEMORANDUM FOR EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
-
Annex A
XCC(86)122 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE BROADCASTING REVIEW BOARD (for discussion on 8 July 1986
Proposals Made for Cable TV in Hong Kong
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Earlier this year the Hong Kong Telephone Company submitted an application to establish a cable television service in Hong Kong to be preceded by a pilot scheme in Tai Koo Shing. On 11 March 1986 the Council noted XCC(86)17 (Annex A) which described the principal features of memorandum this proposal. Since then a number of other companies and consortia have expressed a preliminary interest in developing Cable TV in Hong Kong, and at least one of these companies is now preparing a detailed proposal.
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•
TelCo
the cable
The Administration has now studied the HK proposal in some detail and notes that because technology proposed by TelCo is of the switched-star type, its subscription cost may be far more tree-and-branch network.
expensive than that of a Moreover, although HK TelCo has asked for an exclusive 25-year cable licence for the whole of Hong Kong, it may
it may as noted in paragraph 17 above be feasible to license more than one cable network or programme supplier. the interests of avoiding a monopoly and to encourage desirable to licence a number of operators.
cable systems it may be
development of
more inexpensive
In
the
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The Administration thus concludes that for a variety of reasons the HK TelCo proposal may not be the only feasible way to introduce cable TV to Hong Kong, but that the potential exists for other and possibly less expensive systems. of the substantial interest in cable TV shown by a number of In view companies, the Administration proposes as a first step formally to invite expressions of interest from prospective cable TV developers. Such an exercise will enable the Administration to gauge business interest in cable TV and to identify better the different technologies that could be used.
CONFIDENTIAL