ENG-2007 — Page 412

348 Communications, the Media and Information Technology

the e-Business Category. The system is for content creators to distribute their digital contents and for the public to access such contents legally.

Telecommunications

The Government's telecommunications policy is to facilitate the development of the telecommunications industry and to enhance Hong Kong's position as an international telecommunications hub.

The Telecommunications Authority (TA) is appointed by the Chief Executive to perform functions and exercise powers under the Telecommunications Ordinance and the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance ('the UEM Ordinance'). The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) is the executive arm of the TA. It oversees the regulation of the telecommunications industry in Hong Kong, advises the Government on telecommunications matters, and enforces the relevant provisions set out under the abovementioned ordinances.

Hong Kong's telecommunications market is fully liberalised and

and highly competitive. There are sector-specific pro-competition provisions in the Telecommunications Ordinance to ensure fair and effective competition in the telecommunications market.

Local Fixed Telecommunications Network Services

Businesses and consumers in Hong Kong enjoy an excellent telecommunications infrastructure. In 2007, the telephone density was 101.5 exchange lines per 100 households, one of the highest in the world.

The local fixed-line market has been fully liberalised since January 2003. Under the full liberalisation policy, there is no pre-set limit on the number of licences issued or any deadline for submission of applications for licences. By year-end, there were 10 local wireline-based fixed network licensees and one local wireless-based fixed network licensee.

Since the introduction of competition in the local fixed network services market in 1995, operators have been actively rolling out their self-built customer access networks to provide choices and services to end-customers. As at July 2007, 79 per cent and 55 per cent of households in Hong Kong were able to enjoy a choice of at least two and three self-built fixed networks respectively.

Mobile Communications Services

The market for mobile communications services is highly competitive. At year- end, five mobile carrier licensees were operating a total of 14 digital systems providing second generation (2G) and third generation (3G) mobile services, serving a customer base of some 10 million. The penetration rate of mobile communications services was about 152 per cent, one of the highest in the world. At year-end, the four 3G operators had acquired a customer base of 2 million. New services based on the high-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA) technology offering service to mobile customers as fast as 7.2 megabits per second are available.