TNAG-1926-FCO40-2742-Future-of-Hong-Kong-Sino-British-Joint-Liaison-Group-sub-gro-1989 — Page 24

with INTELSAT directly in these matters with the exception

of the final applications which are submitted through the

Signatory as a matter of formality.

Benefits

14.

The external communications of Hong Kong rely on

channels provided by cables, microwave radio,

high-frequency radio and communications satellites.

INTELSAT satellites play a significant role in connecting

Hong Kong with the rest of the

the world. A substantial

volume of

of the

the traffic of external

external telecommunications to

and from Hong Kong is routed through the channels provided

by INTELSAT. (As of March 1989, 3,969 voice grade

circuits out of a total of 13,352 circuits of various

types used

for external telecommunications to/from Hong

Kong were carried by INTELSAT satellites.) Hong Kong

relies on these channels to maintain an efficient external

telecommunications service. Hong Kong is now a major

financial, commercial and industrial centre of Asia. The

activities in the various sectors of the economy depend

heavily on

both internal and

telecommunications,

external. An efficient

telecommunication

infrastructure

is therefore vital to the continued development of the

economy of Hong Kong. Through contacts with the UK Party

and the UK Signatory and the participation at the INTELSAT

meetings, Hong Kong is able to keep abreast of the latest

developments in the policy making and operation of the