Communications, the Media and Information Technology | 401
190 events were held at Cyberport, with almost 15 000 participants taking part. These include 95 regional and local conferences and 38 product launching and ceremonies. Some of the more prominent events held in 2004 were the first Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum, the Global ICT Summit, the Cyberport Venture Capital Forum and the 'ICT Day at Cyberport'. These events gave IT and digital entertainment professionals valuable opportunities to exchange views with local and overseas experts.
Cyberport also contributes to technological development in Hong Kong and provides the necessary infrastructure and technical support for SMEs. The Hong Kong Wireless Development Centre was opened in December 2003 to provide central testing and demonstration facilities for wireless developers in Hong Kong. The Digital Media Centre (DMC), opened in March, provides high-end production and post- production facilities and technical support for the digital entertainment industry. To complement the DMC, the iResource Centre was opened in May to provide a wide range of IT and multimedia resources, including a digital content library, industry research reports, business information and numerous sound tracks. This infrastructure and these services are essential to supporting the continuous development of the local IT and digital entertainment industries, in particular the SMEs that cannot afford the initial investment in expensive equipment and lack access to useful resources and business information.
Telecommunications
The Government's telecommunications policy aims to facilitate the development of the telecommunications industry and enhance Hong Kong's position as an international telecommunications hub.
The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) is the executive arm of the Telecommunications Authority (TA). It oversees the regulation of the telecommunications industry in Hong Kong and administers the ordinances governing the establishment and operation of telecommunications services.
Since 2003, the Government has fully opened competition to all sectors of the telecommunications market - local and external, services-based and facilities-based. Following an industry consultation, the TA issued the relevant guidelines on merger and acquisition activities in July 2004. The Government then brought the Telecommunications (Amendment) Ordinance 2003, enacted in July 2003, into effect to promote fair and effective competition in the telecommunications market and facilitate informed decision-making by businesses on mergers and acquisitions.
Local Fixed Telecommunications Network Services
Businesses and consumers in Hong Kong enjoy an excellent telecommunications infrastructure. In 2004, the telephone density was 55 exchange lines per 100 population - one of the highest in the world. Also serving Hong Kong's needs in data communications were more than 456 081 dedicated facsimile lines.
The local fixed network market has been fully liberalised since January 2003. Under the full liberalisation policy, there is no pre-set limit on the number of licences.