The Communications Authority (CA) announced today (28 July 2021) the decision to grant prior consent to Hutchison Telephone Company Limited (Hutchison) to cease the provision of all its second generation mobile (2G) services starting from 30 September 2021.
In assessing the application from Hutchison for the service cessation pursuant to Special Condition 10.4 under its Unified Carrier Licence, the CA has taken into account relevant considerations including the extremely low percentage of Hutchison's customers to be affected by the 2G service cessation; incentive offers provided by the company to the affected customers to migrate to a higher generation of mobile services; favourable termination arrangements for those who choose not to continue the subscription as well as sufficient time of notification and customer support to the affected customers. In approving the application, the CA also requires Hutchison to maintain satisfactory 2G network coverage until its shutdown.
The spectrum to be freed up from the cessation of 2G services can be redeployed by Hutchison for providing higher generation mobile services, such that its customers are able to enjoy higher network capacity and enhanced features of more advanced mobile services.
Affected customers of Hutchison may also refer to the press release issued by the company on the same day as the announcement of the service cessation (https://www.hthkh.com/en/media/press_all.php). They are advised to contact Hutchison for details of the migration arrangements as soon as possible, and consider upgrading their service plans and mobile devices for better service quality as well as more advanced and innovative functions and features available from a newer generation of mobile services.
Communications Authority
Secretariat
28 July 2021