ENG-2019 — Page 341

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Media and Communications

Charges for fixed broadband are very competitive, starting from as low as about $98 per month for services at speeds of up to 1 Gbps. The city is also at the forefront of providing public Wi-Fi, with more than 62,000 Wi-Fi hot spots.

External Telecommunications

Forty-two operators are licensed to provide facility-based external telecommunications services. Hong Kong is connected with the Mainland through 20 overland cables and with the rest of world through 11 regional and transcontinental submarine cable systems set up at eight submarine cable landing stations. The total equipped capacity of the external telecommunications facilities in December exceeded 107,795 Gbps.

Satellite Communications

Two Hong Kong companies are licensed to operate and provide satellite communications services, operating 11 satellites in total.

Unsolicited Electronic Messages

The Unsolicited Electronic Messages Ordinance regulates the sending of commercial electronic messages, including faxes, pre-recorded telephone messages, short messages and emails. Operating under the ordinance are three 'Do-not-call' registers (DNCs) for faxes, short messages and pre-recorded telephone messages. As at end-2019, more than 2.6 million numbers were registered in the three DNCs.

In 2019, the CA received 622 reports of suspected contraventions and issued 31 warning letters. to senders.

Protection of Consumers

The OFCA works closely with the industry to safeguard consumer interests in using telecommunications services and to resolve any systemic problems that are manifested in consumer complaints, covering mobile bill shock, contractual disputes, operators' fair usage policy, billing information and payment collection.

The industry implements a voluntary Customer Complaint Settlement Scheme, which receives funding and administrative support from the OFCA, to mediate billing disputes in deadlock between service providers and their customers. During the year, 75 eligible applications were handled, of which 99 per cent were settled.

Broadcasting

Commercial Broadcasting

Hong Kong's broadcasting policy objectives are to widen programme choice and diversity through competition, to facilitate the introduction of innovative broadcasting services, and to enhance the city's position as a regional broadcasting hub. It adopts a facilitating and pro- competition approach to promote the use of innovative technologies and provides a liberalised and light-handed regulatory environment that moves with the times.

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