Communications, the Media and Information Technology | 365
The Telecommunications Authority (TA) is appointed by the Chief Executive to perform functions and exercise powers under the Telecommunications Ordinance and the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance (UEM Ordinance). OFTA is the executive arm of the TA. It oversees the regulation of the telecommunications industry in Hong Kong, advises the Government on telecommunications matters and enforces the relevant provisions set out under the above-mentioned ordinances.
Mobile Communications Services
Five operators run a total of 15 digital systems in the city, providing second generation (2G), third generation (3G) and fourth generation (4G) services. As at December 2011, there were over 14.93 million subscribers to mobile communications services. This represents a population penetration of 210.2 per cent, one of the highest in the world. The number of 3G users also continues to rise. As at December 2011, the four 3G operators had a combined total of 7.42 million. customers.
Local mobile data services are available at speeds of up to 21 Mbps and 42 Mbps using high-speed packet access (HSPA) and the evolved high-speed packet access (HSPA+) technologies respectively. In May 2011, the first 4G service in the 2.5 2.6 GHz band was launched in Hong Kong, deploying the Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, which could provide downlink speeds up to 100 Mbps.
With the increasing popularity of smart phones, mobile data usage surged to 4 134 Terabytes (4 133 957 Gigabytes) in December 2011, or an average of 508.7 Mbytes per 2.5G/3G mobile user. This represents 1.7 times and 4 times the usage over the same period in 2010 and 2009 respectively.
To meet further the booming demand for mobile data services and to sustain the momentum of market growth, OFTA successfully conducted an auction for frequency spectrum in the 850 MHz and 900 MHz in March 2011. in November 2011, OFTA published the detailed arrangement for auctioning spectrum in the 2.3 GHz band. The auction will be conducted in the first quarter of 2012.
Fixed Communications Services
There is no preset limit on the number of licences that can be issued for telephone fixed line networks. Neither is there any deadline for the submission of applications for them. By the end of the year, there were 17 local fixed telephone network licensees, providing 102.3 telephone fixed-lines per 100 households, one of the highest in the world. As a result of the Government's policy to promote facility- based competition in the local fixed services market, 86.2 per cent and 75.5 per cent of residential households were able to enjoy a choice of at least two and three local fixed networks respectively as at March 2011. The figure is expected to keep growing as operators continue to extend their network coverage.