XN000022-1997-03-14 — Page 17

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Information Infrastructure Advisory Committee established

A new advisory committee, the Information Infrastructure Advisory Committee (IIAC), has been established under the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) to co-ordinate the orderly development of the Information Infrastructure in Hong Kong.

"With rapid advances in information technologies, effective inter-personal communication and fast flow of information have assumed a much more important role in our business community and daily life," said Mr Anthony S K Wong, Acting Director-General of Telecommunications.

"It is necessary for Hong Kong to develop in a timely and orderly manner our information superhighway within Hong Kong and linking us up to the rest of the world. Such links should provide us with ready choices of connectivity, greater personal flexibility and mobility, and all kinds of multi-media services and new applications.

"To prepare us for the arrival of the Information age, there is a need to step up our coordination of the development of Hong Kong's Information Infrastructure, hence the setting up of this new committee," he added.

The membership of the IIAC includes representatives of the local fixed network carriers, the telecommunications and information technology industries, and relevant professional bodies. Academics, industrialists, and experts in the relevant fields are also appointed to serve on an ad personam basis. The Committee is chaired by the Director-General of Telecommunications personally.

"I am pleased to have such a distinguished group of people who come from different sectors of the community to join the IIAC," said Mr Wong.

"I shall consider the need for appointing other suitable persons to the Committee at a later stage, in the light of IIAC's operating experience.

'An immediate task for the IIAC will be the establishment of special task forces to tackle individual issues at a more technical, detailed level, and we need to co-opt people outside the IIAC who are interested in the subject and possess relevant expertise to serve as co-opted task force members."