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Latest development of fixed telephone networks
Following is a question by Dr the Hon Law Cheung-kwok and a written reply by the acting Secretary for Economic Services, Mr Leo Kwan, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
Reply:
Will the Government inform this Council of:
(a)
(b)
(a)
the business development of the three newly-licensed operators since the liberalisation of local fixed telephone networks in July last year; and
the specific policies which have been implemented, as well as those which are under planning, on the promotion of fair competition among operators of local fixed telephone networks?
The three new Fixed Telecommunication Network Services (FINS) operators have installed and commissioned their main exchanges and have commenced offering services to the public. All three are now providing an "IDD access" service to the international telephone services. of Hong Kong Telecom International. They are actively rolling out their networks. On April 2, 1996 they jointly entered into an agreement with the Mass Transit Railway Corporation to install optical fibre cables for their trunk networks. They are also working jointly with Hong Kong Telephone Company Limited, the dominant operator, to install cabling within new infrastructure projects and to provision new telephone exchange facilities in reclaimed areas and the new airport. As it takes time for the new operators to roll out their networks, the number of directly-connected customers for the three operators is still small. In the mean time, the new operators are building a customer base through the "IDD access" services, personal numbering and calling card services.