ENG-2015 — Page 339

16

The Media, Communications and Information Technology

Mobile Communications Services

Four mobile network operators provide second generation (2G), third generation (3G) and fourth generation (4G) services in the city. As at December 2015, there were more than 16.73 million subscribers to mobile communications services, representing a population penetration of 229 per cent, one of the highest in the world. With the increasing popularity of smartphones, the number of 3G/4G users reached 14.11 million in December 2015 while mobile data usage reached 20,011 terabytes, representing 1.26 times the usage in December 2014. On average, each mobile data user used 1,304.6 megabytes per month in 2015. Mobile data services are available at downlink speeds of up to 300Mbps using Long Term Evolution technology. The World Economic Forum's Global Information Technology Report 2015 ranked Hong Kong first among 143 economies in mobile network coverage.

Fixed Communications Services

The local fixed communications services market is fully liberalised and there is no preset limit on the number of licences that can be issued, nor any deadline for the submission of applications. By the end of 2015, there were 25 local fixed telephone network licensees, providing 95 phone fixed-lines or internet phone services per 100 households, one of the highest in the world. As a result of the government's policy to promote facility-based competition in the local fixed services market, 86.7 per cent and 78.9 per cent of residential households could choose between at least two or three self-built local fixed customer access networks respectively as at March 2015.

Fixed Broadband Services

Hong Kong has one of the world's most advanced fixed broadband network infrastructures and a high household fixed broadband penetration rate of 83.8 per cent. According to internet content delivery provider Akamai's State of the Internet 3rd Quarter, 2015 Report, Hong Kong has the world's second fastest broadband, with an average peak connection speed of 101.1 Mbps.

The city is ranked third globally in deploying an optical fibre access network, according to information published in February 2015 by the Fibre to the Home Council Europe. As at December 2015, the OFCA's voluntary building registration scheme recorded about 14,500 fibre-to-the-building or fibre-to-the-home residential buildings, covering about 84 per cent of households. The corresponding number of non-residential buildings registered under the scheme was more than 1,400.

Hong Kong's fixed broadband services are competitively priced and very affordable, being offered at a monthly rate as low as around $173, or US$22 for broadband internet access service at speeds of up to 1Gbps. Hong Kong is also at the forefront in providing public Wi-Fi service. At the end of the year, there were more than 39,850 Wi-Fi hot spots in about 8,830 areas.

External Telecommunications Facilities and Services

The external telecommunications facilities market is fully liberalised and by December 2015, 42 licensees were authorised to provide cable-based and/or non-cable-based external telecommunications facilities. Hong Kong has seven submarine cable landing stations and is connected to nine regional and trans-Pacific submarine cable systems. It is also connected to

283

I

i

|