XN000022-1996-09-18 — Page 2

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The way forward for a more liberalised telecoms market

The Government is fully committed to fair trade and competition in its telecommunications policy, the Secretary for Economic Services, Mr Stephen Ip, said today (Wednesday) when releasing the Administration's response to the Consumer Council's report "Achieving Competition in the Liberalised Telecommunications Market".

"There are some 23 recommendations in the Report and many of these have already been implemented or are being implemented," he said.

"We liberalised the fixed telecommunications network market in July 1995 and have currently entered into a dialogue with Hong Kong Telecom International Limited (HKTI) оп the existing arrangements for Hong Kong's international telecommunications sector to see whether these arrangements are best suited to the continued development of the Government's policy of maintaining Hong Kong as the pre-eminent telecommunications hub in the Asia-Pacific region."

Commenting on specific proposals by the Consumer Council, Mr Ip said there were already licence conditions requiring for the clear separation of functions between Hong Kong Telephone Company Limited (HKTC) and its affiliates as well as for carriers to exchange information on interconnection and sharing of facilities and for the Telecommunications Authority (TA) to issue directions on sharing of facilities among licensees.

He was pleased that HKTC had concluded commercial agreements on interconnection with New T and T Hong Kong Limited and New World Telephone Limited on May 31 and August 10 respectively.

"On tariff, the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) is now analysing comments received during a large-scale public consultation on the review of the pricing structure of local telephone services (including interconnection charge) which just closed on July 22," Mr Ip said.

He said following the issue of a TA statement on April 23 defining HKTI's exclusive operating right, the Government and HKTI had recently entered into a

dialogue оп the existing arrangements for Hong Kong's international

telecommunications sector.

On the question of tariff rebalancing, the Government agreed with the Consumer Council that it should be achieved in the long run, he said: "We shall take into account the level of competition in the market as well as the public's acceptance of the change in so doing."