XN000022-1990-12-06 — Page 5

OPTICAL FIBRES WERE

LAID BY THE

SOME 28,000 KILOMETRES OF TELEPHONE COMPANY THROUGHOUT HONG KONG AND OVER 60 PER CENT OF EXCHANGE LINES WERE DIGITALISED.

INTERNATIONALLY, THE HONG KONG TELECOM INTERNATIONAL BECAME A MAJOR PARTNER IN THE LAYING OF FIBRE OPTIC CABLES WHICH LINK HONG KONG WITH TAIWAN, SINGAPORE, JAPAN, KOREA AND CHINA.

MR WONG SAID THE BENEFITS WERE APPARENT. WITHIN HONG KONG THE NUMBER OF TELEPHONE LINES INCREASED BY 74 PER CENT IN THE LAST DECADE, GIVING A TOTAL OF 2.4 MILLION DIRECT LINES TODAY (1.E. 42 PER 100 POPULATION OR ALMOST EVERY HOUSEHOLD).

IN ADDITION, OVER 100,000 FACSIMILE LINES ARE NOW IN THE LOW CHARGES FOR INTERNATIONAL CALLS LED TO A TWELVE-FOLD IN INTERNATIONAL TELEPHONE USAGE OVER THE PAST DECADE, TO THE 1,350 MILLION CALLS MINUTES A YEAR.

USE AND INCREASE PRESENT

PAGING

THE LOW RATES ALSO ATTRACTED OVER 700,000 RADIO SUBSCRIBERS (OR A PENETRATION RATE OF 12 PER CENT POPULATION WHICH THE HIGHEST IN THE WORLD) AND OVER 110,000 CELLULAR RADIO-TELEPHONE USERS (OR TWO PER CENT PENETRATION}, MR WONG ADDED.

WAS

"GIVEN THE QUANTUM LEAPS IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVELOPMENT OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS, THERE ARE INDICATIONS THAT THE PACE OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT AROUND THE WORLD WILL CONTINUE TO INTENSIFY IN THE YEARS AHEAD."

MR WONG SAID THE INCREASING EMPLOYMENT OF DIGITAL AND FIBRE OPTIC TECHNOLOGIES WOULD FURTHER ENHANCE SPEED AND CAPACITY.

"IN HONG KONG, WE EXPECT FULL EXCHANGES TO BE EFFECTED BY 1993.

DIGITALISATION OF TELEPHONE

"FURTHER FIBRE OPTIC SUBMARINE CABLES WILL BE FACILITATE INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS TRAFFIC TO AND KONG ON THE GLOBAL DIGITAL HIGHWAY NETWORK," HE SAID.

MR WONG SAID IN SATELLITE FACILITIES AND SERVICES, SURGES TO THE FOREFRONT TOO.

LAID TO FROM HONG

HONG KONG

HONG KONG-BASED

"THE LAUNCHING OF ASIASAT I BY A PRIVATE COMPANY EARLIER THIS YEAR HAS OPENED THE SKIES ΤΟ NEW TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES POSSIBLY COVERING 35 COUNTRIES IN ASIA.

**

HE ADDED THAT THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT HAS RECENTLY ANNOUNCED LICENSING FRAMEWORK FOR SATELLITE TELEVISION BROADCASTING AND RECEPTION.

A

(WITH

"THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PAN-ASIAN SATELLITE TELEVISION SERVICE A CAPITAL OUTLAY OF US$400 MILLION) IS NOW A DISTINCT PROBABILITY, MR WONG SAID,

14

SERVICES USING THE SECOND

BEING PLANNED

IN

MEANWHILE, MR WONG SAID TELEPOINT GENERATION CORDLESS TELEPHONE TECHNOLOGY ARE SINGAPORE AND HONG KONG.

/"WE ARE