Broadcasting

5.1 An Overview of the Developments in the Broadcasting Market

5.1.1 Number of Licensees and Channels

Television Programme Services

As at March 2018, the total number of free TV, pay TV and non-domestic TV licensees was 19. They provided 592 television channels², of which 460 were receivable in Hong Kong, representing a slight decrease of 1% since March 2017. An overview of the channels provided by the television programme service licensees is shown in Figure 1.

As at March 2018, there were three free TV licensees, viz. Fantastic TV,HKTVE and TVB, and they provided a total of 11 channels³. Three channels (“Fantastic TV Chinese Channel”⁴. “Jade” and “Pearl”⁵) were simulcast in both analogue and digital formats while five were digital channels. HKTVE’s digital channels comprised two HDTV channels, viz. “ViuTV” and “ViuTVsix”. TVB’s digital channels comprised three HDTV channels, namely, “J2”, “TVB News Channel” (formerly “iNews”) and “TVB Finance & Information Channel” (formerly “J5”). Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), as the public service broadcaster in Hong Kong, provided three channels and two of them were simulcast in both analogue and digital formats.

As at March 2018, there were two pay TV licensees, viz. Hong Kong Cable Television Limited (HKCTV) and PCCW Media Limited (PCCW Media), providing a total of 393 pay television channels and offering a diversity of local and overseas productions. Over 120 HDTV channels were offered by the licensees within the same period.

As at March 2018, there were 14 non-domestic TV licensees providing a total of 188 television channels, 56 channels of which were available to Hong Kong viewers, representing an increase of 6% in the number of channels available to Hong Kong viewers since March 2017.

During the period under review, the number of other licensable TV licensees providing television programme services in hotels in Hong Kong decreased by one to 22. Together they provided services to more than 70 hotels in Hong Kong.

Figure 1: Television Channels Provided by Television Programme Service Licensees in Hong Kong (as at 31 March 2018)

Date	Free TV*	Pay TV	Non-domestic TV
	Number of Channels
Aug 2009	14	309	202
Aug 2010	15	325	214
Aug 2011	15	355	222
Mar 2012	15	358	234
Mar 2013	15	372	260
Mar 2014	15	400	270
Mar 2015	15	395	265
Mar 2016	16	401	276
Mar 2017	9	403	186
Mar 2018	11	393	188

Sources: Licensees
* The simulcast channels of Asia Television Limited (2009-2016), TVB (2009-2018) and Fantastic TV (2018) are counted for both the analogue and digital platforms.

In addition to television channels provided by television programme service licensees, Hong Kong viewers can receive free unencrypted satellite television programme channels uplinked from Hong Kong and elsewhere. As at March 2018, there were more than 400 such free-to-air satellite television channels available for reception via the Satellite Master Antenna Television (SMATV) systems in Hong Kong. The list of channels currently available can be downloaded at http://www.ofca.gov.hk/filemanager/ofca/en/content_295/st_smatv.pdf.

Sound Broadcasting Services

During the period under review, there were two sound broadcasting licensees, namely, Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Company Limited (CRHK) and Metro Broadcast Corporation Limited (Metro). RTHK as the public service broadcaster also provided sound broadcasting service.

As at March 2018, there were 13 radio channels (three by CRHK, three by Metro and seven by RTHK). All channels provided by the commercial licensees and RTHK were broadcast round-the-clock.

5.1.2 Transmission Modes

Television

The regulatory regime for television programme services in Hong Kong as enshrined in the BO is technology-neutral⁶. Licensees are free to choose their transmission arrangements for delivery of television services. Broadcasters can build their own transmission networks to deliver their services and, in such cases, they need to apply for a carrier licence from the Authority to cover the transmission network. Alternatively, they can engage any of the existing carrier licensees to provide the transmission service. Licensees can also provide their television programme services via multiple transmission platforms so as to maximise the coverage.

The transmission modes employed by television programme service licensees are set out in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Transmission Modes Employed by Television Programme Service Licensees

Licensee	Transmission Mode	Network Coverage as at March 2018
Free TV
TVB	Terrestrial UHF7, including (a) Analogue PAL-I format; and (b) Digital National Standard format	99% of population
HKTVE	Terrestrial UHF and Fixed broadband network	99% of population
Fantastic TV	HFC8 and MMDS9	Around 93% of total households
Pay TV
HKCTV	HFC, MMDS and satellite (Digital)	Around 96% of total households
PCCW Media	PON and DSL10 Broadband network (Digital)	Around 97% of total households
Non-domestic TV
All the 14 licensees	Satellite (Digital)	34% of total households (880 568 households)11

Penetration of Different Broadcasting Services

For free TV services, the penetration rate of analogue broadcasting stood at about 98% of the total households as at end of March 2018¹². As regards digital terrestrial television (DTT) services, the take-up rate was about 88% of all the households in October 2017¹³.

The penetration of licensed pay TV services was about 85%¹⁴ of the total households as at end of March 2018. The total number of subscribers to licensed pay TV services stood at about 2.1 million in March 2018¹⁵. The changes in total number of subscribers from 2009 to 2018 are shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Subscribers to Licensed Pay TV Services in Hong Kong

Date	No. of aggregate subscribers
Aug 2009	2 140 000
Aug 2010	2 310 000
Aug 2011	2 390 000
Mar 2012	2 440 000
Mar 2013	2 431 000
Mar 2014	2 448 000
Mar 2015	2 421 000
Mar 2016	2 338 000
Mar 2017	2 151 000
Mar 2018	2 151 000

Sources: Licensees

Sound Broadcasting

During the period under review, the radio broadcasters provided their services in FM and AM modes. Seven FM programme channels were provided through seven hilltop sites and supplemented by two low-power FM gap-fillers. In addition, six AM programme channels were broadcast from two island and hilltop sites, supplemented by six low-power AM/FM gap-fillers to improve the AM programme services. The services practically covered the whole territory of Hong Kong.

5.1.3 Broadcasting Revenues and Investment

Licensed broadcasting services contributed an estimated $8.18 billion¹⁶ to the Hong Kong economy, which represented about 0.3% of the gross domestic product in 2017. There are two main sources of revenues for the provision of broadcasting services, viz. advertising and subscription. The incomes of free TV licensees and sound broadcasting licensees mainly come from sales of advertising spots within programme breaks. Pay TV licensees, on the other hand, derive their incomes mainly from subscription fees while sales of advertising spots remain a secondary income source.

Advertising Revenue

According to the report of admanGo, the advertising expenditures on television and radio accounted for 32% (about $13.41 billion) and 4% (about $1.68 billion) respectively of the accumulated $41.9 billion advertising expenditures in the media in 2017¹⁷.

In 2017, the actual advertising revenues of HKTVE and TVB were around $185 million and $2.46 billion respectively. The actual advertising revenues of other licensees were not publicly available.

Subscription Revenue

According to the annual report of PCCW Limited (PCCW), the holding company of PCCW Media, the turnover of its pay TV service and related services provided in Hong Kong under the “now” brand was $2.75 billion in 2017, representing a decrease of 5% over the figure in 2016.

The subscription revenue of HKCTV is not publicly available.

Investment in Broadcasting Industry

Key investment projects in the television industry in recent years include digitisation of the terrestrial broadcasting network, HDTV content and production technology, interactive television services, and regular network maintenance and upgrades that are required to maintain or expand the ever-advancing scope of services. In addition, with the increasingly competitive television industry, the exclusive rights to broadcast premium contents such as sports events have been a major attraction to viewers.

Fantastic TV, HKTVE and TVB have committed to investing a total of $1.2 billion for the six-year period from 2016 to 2022, $1.5 billion for the six-year period from 2015 to 2021 and $6.3 billion for the six-year period from 2016 to 2021 respectively for the provision of free TV services. Investment commitments of Fantastic TV, HKTVE and TVB comprise capital expenditures and programming expenditures. As at March 2018, both Fantastic TV and HKTVE provided a total of 168 hours of HDTV programmes per week, while TVB provided a total of 807 hours of such programmes per week. Fantastic TV and TVB have also committed to increasing the amount of independent local productions in their programming progressively¹⁸.

As regards the pay TV market, i-CABLE Communications Limited, the parent company of HKCTV, reported in its 2017 Final Results Announcement that the capital expenditure of the group for the year had decreased from $238 million in 2016 to $208 million in 2017. Its major items of investment included property, plant and equipment. According to the 2017 Annual Report of PCCW, the parent company of PCCW Media, the capital expenditure for the year on its media business was $235 million, representing an increase of 22% over the figure in the previous year. Its major items of investment included the upgrading of production studio facilities.

CRHK and Metro have committed to investing a total of $909 million and $685 million respectively for the six-year period from 2016 to 2022 for the provision of sound broadcasting services. The investment commitment of CRHK and Metro covers programming improvement and upgrading of infrastructure and facilities and other developments brought by technological advancement to further enhance their service quality.

5.1.4 Programme Variety and Positive Programme Requirements
(a) Programme Variety and Diversity

Number of Broadcast Hours and Hours of Station Productions

As at March 2018, the licensees broadcast about 67 478 hours of television programmes a week. Among them, the three analogue channels of Fantastic TV and TVB provided a total of 503 broadcast hours per week. The eight digital channels of Fantastic TV, HKTVE and TVB provided a total of 1 293 broadcast hours per week, while the 393 channels of the two pay TV licensees provided a total of 56 274 broadcast hours per week. As at March 2018, the 56 channels of non-domestic TV licensees receivable in Hong Kong provided a total of 9 408 broadcast hours per week.

The weekly number of broadcast hours for CRHK, Metro and RTHK as at March 2018 was 2 184.

For the period under review, there were a total of 39 630 hours of station productions broadcast on Fantastic TV, HKTVE and TVB, of which 10 370 hours were on analogue channels and 29 260 hours on digital channels. Of the 393 channels provided by pay TV licensees, 76 channels (19.3%) were produced by the licensees themselves.

Free TV Services

Chinese and English Channels

During the period under review, drama series and news/weather reports were the dominating programme genres during prime time on the Chinese channels (viz. “Fantastic TV Chinese Channel”, “Jade” and “ViuTV”). Drama series on “Jade” were mostly in-house productions; while “Fantastic TV Chinese Channel”, “Jade” and “ViuTV” broadcast Mainland, Korean and Japanese drama series. In addition, children’s programmes/animation, magazine/talk shows, business/financial programmes, music programmes/variety shows and feature films, etc. were also broadcast during prime time on the Chinese channels. The three channels provided by RTHK presented a variety of programmes to serve a broad spectrum of audiences and cater to the needs of minority interest groups.

Figure 4: Weekly Hours of Different Types of Programme Broadcast on Fantastic TV Chinese Channel, Jade and ViuTV as at March 2018

Programme Types	Hours	Percentage (%)
Dramas	123.7	24.6
Business/Financial Programmes	71.7	14.2
News/Weather Reports	70.4	14.0
Magazine/Talk Shows	48.1	9.6
Children's Programmes/Animation	40.8	8.1
Travelogues	21.1	4.2
Music Programmes/Variety Shows	17.6	3.5
Cooking Programmes	14.6	2.9
Feature Films	9.9	2.0
*Others	85	16.9
Weekly Total	502.9	100

Sources: Fantastic TV, HKTVE & TVB
* Other programmes include hobbies and leisure programmes, documentaries and programmes for senior citizens etc.

The English channels (viz. “Pearl” and “ViuTVsix”) broadcast a wide range of programmes, including business/financial programmes, news/weather reports, children’s programmes/animation, imported popular drama series, sports programmes, music programmes/variety shows, documentaries, feature films, education/enrichment programmes and current affairs programmes.

Figure 5: Weekly Hours of Different Types of Programme Broadcast on Pearl and ViuTVsix as at March 2018

Programme Types	Hours	Percentage (%)
Business/Financial Programmes	46.5	16.2
News/Weather Reports	41.2	14.3
Children's Programmes/Animation	37.6	13.1
Music Programmes/Variety Shows	33.9	11.8
Dramas	30.6	10.6
Documentaries	17.0	5.9
Education/Enrichment Programmes	10.7	3.7
Feature Films	8.4	2.9
Current Affairs Programmes	7.4	2.6
*Others	54.2	18.9
Weekly Total	287.5	100

Sources : HKTVE & TVB
* Other programmes include sports programmes, travelogues and health/medical programmes etc.

Thematic Channels

During the period under review, TVB provided acquired dramas, documentaries, variety shows, news, finance information programmes, etc. via “J2”, “TVB News Channel” and “TVB Finance & Information Channel”.

Pay TV Services

During the period under review, a wide variety of channels were offered on pay TV services, including entertainment/infotainment channels (32.1%), sports channels (18.6%), news/information channels (14.5%), movie channels (10.4%), and documentary/learning channels (9.7%).

Figure 6: Nature of Pay TV Channels as at March 2018

Nature of Channels	Quantity	Percentage (%)
Entertainment/Infotainment	126	32.1
Sports	73	18.6
News/Information	57	14.5
Movie	41	10.4
Documentary/Learning	38	9.7
Children	22	5.6
Adult	17	4.3
Music	6	1.5
Others	13	3.3
Total channels	393	100

Sources: Licensees

As at March 2018, HKCTV offered 133 channels (including 38 HDTV channels). PCCW Media’s “now TV” service offered 195 channels (including 86 HDTV channels) and 65 video-on-demand services.

Sound Broadcasting

As at March 2018, CRHK operated two FM Cantonese language services, viz. “CR1” and “CR2”, and one AM English language service, “AM 864”. “CR1” mainly provided news, current affairs, financial and personal view programmes. “CR2” was mainly an entertainment channel featuring pop culture and music targeting young listeners. “AM864” was primarily a music channel.

Metro operated two FM Cantonese language services, viz. “Metro Finance” and “Metro Info”, and one AM English language service, viz. “Metro Plus”. “Metro Finance” provided real-time, market-moving news and information about financial markets around the world. “Metro Info” provided music and entertainment programmes as well as programmes on lifestyle, health, market news and other information of interest to the public. “Metro Plus” was a music channel which also provided programmes for ethnic groups including the Filipino, Indian and Thai communities in Hong Kong.

RTHK operated seven radio channels, providing Cantonese, English and Putonghua services. It offered a variety of thematic channels ranging from information to general entertainment and culture.

(b) Positive Programme Requirements

During the period under review, free TV licensees (viz. Fantastic TV, HKTVE and TVB) were required to broadcast at least 27.5 hours of positive programmes¹⁹ per week. They all met the requirements²⁰.

The reports submitted by the licensees to the Authority on six types of positive programmes, viz. current affairs programmes, documentaries, children’s programmes, programmes for young persons, programmes for senior citizens and arts and culture programmes, are available at http://www.ofca.gov.hk/en/pub_report/compliance_reports/index.html.

Figure 7: Broadcast of Positive Programmes on the Chinese Channels of Fantastic TV, HKTVE and TVB as at March 2018

Programme Types	Fantastic TV Chinese Channel	ViuTV	TVB Jade
	Yearly Total (Hours)
Arts and culture programmes	151	89	59
Children’s programmes	328	871	880
Current affairs programmes	46	52	102
Documentaries	158	52	131
News programmes	491	1 734	1 310
Programmes for senior citizens	92	91	79
Programmes for young persons	59	61	26

Sources: Fantastic TV, HKTVE & TVB

Free TV licensees were required to provide Chinese subtitles for all news, current affairs programmes, weather reports and emergency announcements, as well as programmes broadcast during prime time (7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.) on the Chinese channels. They are also required to provide English subtitles for all news, current affairs programmes, weather programmes, emergency announcements and educational programmes for teenagers (two hours per week) on the English channels²¹. HKTVE and TVB were required to provide Chinese subtitling for all drama programmes on the Chinese channels and English subtitling for all programmes broadcast on the English channels between 8:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. As a whole, Fantastic TV²², HKTVE²³ and TVB complied with the requirements on provision of subtitles.

Pursuant to licence requirements, Fantastic TV, HKTVE and TVB were required to broadcast one minute of Announcements in the Public Interest (APIs) in each hour on each channel. Also, they are required to broadcast, on a weekly basis, not more than five minutes in aggregate of publicity material for the Authority on each of the Chinese and English channels²⁴. During the period under review, Fantastic TV, HKTVE and TVB broadcast a total of 1 140 hours of the two types of materials²⁵.

As regards sound broadcasting services, sound broadcasting licensees were required to broadcast at least 28.5 hours of positive programmes²⁶ per week. CRHK and Metro reported that they had complied with the licence conditions on broadcast of positive programmes.

All sound broadcasting licensees were required to broadcast one minute of APIs in each hour and not more than five minutes of publicity material for the Authority each week in each service channel. All licensees complied with the requirements.

Figure 8: Broadcast of Positive Programmes on Sound Broadcasting Services as at March 2018

Programme Types	CRHK	Metro
	Weekly Average Hours
News/Weather	51.7	52.1
Children	2	0.5
Arts and Culture	6.67	11
Senior Citizens	1.5	7.5
Young Persons	2	4
Current Affairs	22.95	10

5.1.5 Hong Kong as a Regional Broadcasting Hub

Hong Kong is a broadcasting hub in the Asia-Pacific region, with 14 non-domestic TV licensees operating in and broadcasting from Hong Kong. Altogether they offered a total of 188 satellite television channels with 56 channels receivable in Hong Kong, serving viewers in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and Africa. A summary of non-domestic TV services as at March 2018 is at Annex 1.

Telecommunications

5.2 An Overview of the Telecommunications Market

Hong Kong has one of the most sophisticated and successful telecommunications market in the world. This has been an important factor in Hong Kong’s development as a leading business and financial centre. In 2017, the telecommunications sector employed around 20 400 persons whilst its gross output amount to $93 billion in 2016.

All sectors of Hong Kong’s telecommunications market have been liberalised with no foreign ownership restrictions. The Authority’s objectives are to maintain a level playing field in the open and competitive telecommunications market and to ensure that consumers get the best services available in terms of efficiency, quality and price.

5.2.1 The Telecommunications Regulatory Regime

Carrier Licences

The Authority issues carrier licences to facility-based operators, authorising them to establish and maintain telecommunications networks and facilities which may cross unleased Government land and public streets, for the provision of public telecommunications services.

The unified carrier licensing regime has been implemented since 1 August 2008 as the single licensing vehicle for the provision of facility-based fixed, mobile and/or converged telecommunications services in Hong Kong.

A Unified Carrier Licence (UCL) for the provision of local fixed service authorises the licensee to establish and maintain fixed network, wireline-based or wireless-based, or a combination of both where applicable, to provide local telecommunications services between fixed points within Hong Kong. A UCL for the provision of external fixed service authorises the licensee to provide external facilities as well as external services operated over external facilities. A UCL for the provision of mobile service enables the licensee to provide two-way communications between moving locations or between a moving location and a fixed location in Hong Kong. The issue of new UCL for the provision of mobile service is subject to the availability of radio spectrum for assignment. An operator may apply for a single UCL to provide all the above services.

Fixed Carrier Licences (FCLs) and Mobile Carrier Licences (MCLs) which were issued before the introduction of the UCL remain valid until their expiry. Holders of FCL and MCL may apply to the Authority for UCL to replace their licences before or upon expiry.

As at March 2018, there were a total of 61 carrier licensees, providing local fixed services, cable-based external fixed services, non cable-based external fixed services and/or mobile services. Among them, there were five holders of FCLs and one holder of MCL and the remaining were UCL holders.

Public Radiocommunications Service Licences

Services which may be authorised under the Public Radiocommunications Service (PRS) Licence include radio paging, community repeater (trunked radio) services, vehicle location information services, one way data message services and public mobile radio data services.

As the provision of radiocommunications services requires the assignment of suitable operating frequencies, PRS Licences are granted only when the required radio spectrum is available.

As at March 2018, there were a total of seven PRS licensees.

Services-based Operator Licences

Services-based Operators (SBO) make use of the networks and facilities of other licensed facility-based operators for the provision of public telecommunications services, but they are not authorised to establish or maintain any telecommunications means which cross public streets or unleased Government lands.

SBO licence covers three types of services, namely, Class 1 and Class 2 local voice telephony services, and Class 3 services which may include external telecommunications service, Internet access service, international value-added network service, mobile virtual network operator service, private payphone service, public radio communications relay service, security and fire alarm signals transmission service, teleconferencing service and mobile communications service on board an aircraft.

As at March 2018, there were a total of 522 SBO licensees.

Class Licences

The class licensing regime does not require any licence application. Parties meeting the specified eligibility criteria and conditions would automatically become the class licensees, and are required to comply with the conditions set out in the relevant Class Licence as well as the TO. Currently there are nine types of Class Licences:

1. Class Licence for 79 GHz Automotive Radar
2. Class Licence for 60 GHz Device
3. Class Licence for Citizens Band Radio Station
4. Class Licence for In-building Telecommunications Systems
5. Class Licence for Medical Implant Communication System Device
6. Class Licence for Short Range Device
7. Class Licence for Taxi Mobile Station
8. Class Licence for Offer of Telecommunications Services
9. Class Licence for Provision of Public Wireless Local Area Network Services

Other Licences

Apart from the licences mentioned above, there are a number of miscellaneous licences under the purview of the Authority.

A breakdown of the types and numbers of all telecommunications licences is at Annex 2.

5.2.2 Developments in the Telecommunications Market and Technology Trends

Mobile Communications Services

Competition in public mobile services is keen. As at March 2018, four mobile network operators, namely, China Mobile Hong Kong Company Limited (CMHK), Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) Limited (HKT), Hutchison Telephone Company Limited (HTCL) and SmarTone Mobile Communications Limited (SmarTone), were providing a wide range of public mobile services. The availability of mobile number portability since March 1999 has contributed to promoting effective competition among the mobile network operators as it enables customers to retain their telephone numbers when they switch to another mobile network operator.

The four mobile network operators provide second generation (2G), 3G and 4G services in Hong Kong at very affordable prices. As at March 2018, there were about 18.39 million subscribers to mobile communications services. This represents a population penetration of 248.2%, one of the highest in the world. The number of 3G/4G users reached 17 million in March 2018, representing a population penetration of 231.9%. Through spectrum refarming, more spectrum is now used for provision of 4G services with a downlink speed up to 1.1 gigabit per second (Gbps).

With the increasing popularity of smart phones, particularly 4G mobile handsets which were readily available in the market, the monthly mobile data usage surged to 32 444 Terabytes²⁷ in March 2018, representing 1.3 times and 1.6 times the monthly usage over the same period in 2017 and 2016 respectively. The mobile data usage per capita reached 4 379 Megabytes in March 2018, compared with 3 436 Megabytes in March 2017 and 2 812 Megabytes in March 2016. The continued development of 4G mobile services is expected to further boost mobile data usage in the future.

Figure 9: Number of Mobile Subscribers (2008 to 2017)

Year	2G	3G	3G/4G	4G
	Number of Subscribers in December (Million)
2008	8.6	2.8	0.0	0.0
2009	8.4	3.8	0.0	0.0
2010	8.2	5.3	0.0	0.0
2011	7.5	0.0	7.4	0.0
2012	6.7	0.0	9.7	0.0
2013	5.1	9.9	0.0	2.2
2014	4.7	8.7	0.0	3.9
2015	2.6	8.3	0.0	5.9
2016	1.6	8.2	0.0	7.4
2017	1.4	8.5	0.0	8.4

Figure 10 Mobile Customers using Postpaid and Prepaid SIM (2008 to 2017)

Year	Post-paid	Pre-paid
	Number of Customers in December (Million)
2008	6.1	5.3
2009	6.4	5.8
2010	6.8	6.6
2011	7.2	7.8
2012	7.6	8.8
2013	7.8	9.3
2014	7.9	9.5
2015	8.0	8.8
2016	8.2	9.1
2017	8.3	10.0

Figure 11: Mobile Data Usage (2008 to 2017)

Year	Yearly Mobile Data Usage (TB)	Monthly Mobile Data Usage per Capita in December (MB)
2008	862.8	19.1
2009	4 336.6	91.2
2010	14 831.1	262.0
2011	35 136.5	581.5
2012	71 311.4	1 070.2
2013	121 240.7	1 674.3
2014	167 101.7	2 186.7
2015	217 158.7	2 737.8
2016	264 658.6	3 170.5
2017	324 220.2	4 111.7

Fixed Communications Services

The local fixed communications services market has been fully liberalised since 2003. There is no preset limit on the number of licences to be issued for fixed services, or deadline for submission of licence applications. Furthermore, there is no specific requirement on network roll-out and investment and licensees may provide their services according to their proposals.

As at March 2018, there were 26 local fixed carriers, providing around 94 fixed lines per 100 households, one of the highest in the world. They were, in alphabetical order:

1. 21 ViaNet Group Limited
2. China Mobile Hong Kong Company Limited
3. China Telecom Global Limited
4. China Unicom (Hong Kong) Operations Limited
5. ComNet Telecom (HK) Limited
6. Easy Tone Network Limited
7. Equinix Hong Kong Limited
8. HGC Global Communications Limited
9. HKBN Enterprise Solutions Limited
10. HKC Network Limited
11. Hong Kong Broadband Network Limited
12. Hong Kong Cable Television Limited
13. Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) Limited
14. NTT Com Asia Limited
15. PCCW Global (HK) Limited
16. PCCW-HKT Telephone Limited and Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) Limited
17. Reach Networks Hong Kong Limited and Reach Cable Networks Limited
18. SmarTone Communications Limited
19. Superloop (Hong Kong) Limited
20. Telstra International HK Limited and Telstra International Limited
21. Towngas Telecommunications Fixed Network Limited
22. TraxComm Limited
23. Verizon Hong Kong Limited
24. Village Telephone Limited
25. Vodafone Enterprise Global Network HK Limited
26. WTT HK Limited

As a result of the active network roll-out by fixed carriers and the former TA’s initiative to encourage further network roll-out by the withdrawal of mandatory Type II interconnection policy in mid-2008, 88.9% and 79.1% of households were able to enjoy a choice of at least two and three self-built customer access networks respectively as at March 2018. It is expected that the figures will keep growing as the carriers continue to roll out their networks.

Local fixed carriers are required to facilitate fixed number portability which enables consumers to switch to another fixed carrier without having to change their telephone numbers.

Fixed Broadband Services

As at March 2018, 26 facility-based operators and 209 SBOs were authorised to provide broadband Internet access services in Hong Kong. With the continuous network roll-out of facility-based operators, the Hong Kong community is able to enjoy nearly ubiquitous coverage of broadband networks through the deployment of various technologies including asymmetric digital subscriber line, hybrid fibre coaxial cable, fibre-to-the-building, fibre-to-the-home, etc. Broadband access to various applications and content services has become an integral part of the life of people in Hong Kong. As at March 2018, there were around 2.66 million residential and commercial fixed broadband subscribers, with a household penetration rate of 93%. Broadband services are available at speeds up to 10 Gbps. Around 83% of the broadband subscribers are using service plans with speeds at 10Mbps or above. The statistics of fixed broadband subscribers as at March 2018 and the statistics for the past 10 years are shown in Figure 12 and Figure 13 respectively.

Figure 12: Statistics of Fixed Broadband Subscribers as at March 2018

Description	No. of subscribers	% share
Total No. of broadband subscribers	2 658 068
Broadband speed of 10Mbps or above	2 213 354	83.3%
Broadband speed below 10Mbps	444 714	16.7%
Residential	2 369 050	89.1%
Commercial	289 018	10.9%

Figure 13: Fixed Broadband Subscribers (2008 to 2017)

Year	Residential	Commercial
	Number of Subscribers (Million)
2008	1.71	0.16
2009	1.77	0.17
2010	1.88	0.18
2011	1.97	0.20
2012	2.05	0.20
2013	2.04	0.22
2014	2.01	0.22
2015	2.04	0.24
2016	2.25	0.25
2017	2.35	0.28

Next Generation Networks

Traditional telecommunications networks are built based on circuit-switched technologies and are primarily designed for the conveyance and provision of dedicated telecommunications services. With the advent of new technologies, it is now possible to build a single network for the conveyance and provision of a variety of services, including fixed voice telephony service, data service, mobile service and television service. Such new networks, commonly referred to as next generation networks (NGNs), serve as an open platform through which service providers are able to develop innovative services and applications, and establish direct relationship with their customers.

In Hong Kong, the development of NGNs has always been driven by technical and commercial considerations of carriers. The major network operators have already launched their NGNs. With the advent of NGN, the Authority will remain vigilant about the challenges to be brought about by NGN and ensure that the regulatory framework remains updated and appropriate in the NGN era. After the completion of a consultancy study commissioned to examine the implication of NGN development on the regulatory framework in Hong Kong, OFCA reconvened the NGN working group between 2012 and 2016 to follow up on the relevant recommendations made by the consultant and other issues pertaining to the development of NGN in Hong Kong. With the support of the Telecommunications Regulatory Affairs Advisory Committee, a technical regulatory working group has been established since 2016 to take up the work under the NGN working group and to study the various technical regulatory issues related to telecommunications networks, systems and services in Hong Kong. OFCA will continue to work closely with the industry to address various technical regulatory issues, including NGN issues, to facilitate the efficient development and deployment of new telecommunications services and technologies in Hong Kong.

Public Wi-Fi Services

Operators have been actively rolling out Wi-Fi networks. Eight network operators and 138 class licensees are providing public Wi-Fi services. As at March 2018, there were 50 939 public Wi-Fi hotspots in the city and the number continued to grow. Free Wi-Fi services were available to the public in 636 government premises.

External Telecommunications Services

The external telecommunications facilities market has been fully liberalised since 2000. As at March 2018, 42 fixed carriers were authorised to provide cable-based and/or non-cable-based external telecommunications facilities.

As at March 2018, there were eight cable landing stations in Hong Kong: two in Tong Fuk, three in Tseung Kwan O and one each in Deep Water Bay, Chung Hom Kok and Cape D’Aguilar, making it a major telecommunications and Internet hub in the region.

In March 2018, Hong Kong was connected to 11 regional and transcontinental submarine cable systems. They are Asia Africa Europe-1 (AAE-1), Asia-America Gateway Cable System (AAG), Asia Pacific Cable Network 2 (APCN-2), Asia Pacific Gateway (APG), Asia Submarine-Cable Express (ASE), EAC - C2C, FLAG Europe Asia (FEA), FLAG North Asia Loop (FNAL)/REACH North Asia Loop (RNAL), Sea-Me-We 3 (SMW3), South-East Asia Japan Cable System (SJC) and TGN-Intra Asia Cable System (TGN-IA). As at March 2018, the total equipped external capacity exceeded 59 856 Gbps. Total external telephone traffic was 4.2 billion minutes for the period from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018. Landing of four additional submarine cable systems is in the pipeline and they are expected to be ready for service between 2018 and 2020.

Figure 14: Submarine Cables between Hong Kong and Other Countries

[A map showing the submarine cables between Hong Kong and other countries.]

Source: TeleGeography

Satellite Services

Hong Kong adopts an open sky policy in regulating the provision of satellite services. Satellite-based telecommunications and television broadcasting services are provided via a multitude of satellites in the region with more than 200 transmitting/receiving satellite antennas in earth stations operated by a number of fixed carriers and broadcasters.

Licences are required for the operation of satellites and associated facilities. As at March 2018, two Hong Kong companies were licensed to operate and provide satellite communication services, namely, Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat) and APT Satellite Company Limited (APT). AsiaSat and APT were established in 1988 and 1992 respectively.

Currently, a total of 11 in-orbit satellites are operated by AsiaSat and APT. The two companies have entered a new investment cycle of launching new satellites for replacement and provision of new business. APT submitted an application in June 2017 to launch a new satellite in the second quarter of 2018.