Hong Kong Government Mulls Alternative Spectrum For 3G Telecom Services
Monday January 22 3:35am EST
HONG KONG -(Dow Jones)- Several Hong Kong mobile operators may still be able to offer third-generation telecommunications services using their existing wireless spectrum in as early as 2002, even if they don't bid for a 3G license in an upcoming auction.
The Office of the Telecommunications Authority said Monday it is considering renewing a number of 2G mobile licenses expiring in the next two years by charging their operators a 3G service premium.
The OFTA may charge 2G operators an amount "with reference to the 3G auction prices" if these 2G operators want to renew their existing licenses and use their old networks to provide 3G services, Anthony S.K. Wong, Director-General of Telecommunications and Telecommunications Authority, told reporters.
While current 2G technology is best used for voice transmission, future 3G technology can be deployed in a wide range of applications, including high-speed data and video transmission. The OFTA will auction off four 3G licenses in the second quarter of this year.
Two wireless licenses held by Hutchison Telecom, the telecom arm of conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (H.HUW), and one by Cable & Wireless HKT CSL, now part of Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd. (PCW), will expire next year.
SmarTone Telecommunications Holdings Ltd. (H.SMR) holds a 2G license expiring in 2003, while Cable & Wireless HKT CSL has another 2G license expiring in the same year.
The three operators, with combined subscribers of over 3.6 million, account for more than 70% of Hong Kong's wireless market. Hong Kong's six mobile operators operate 11 networks in the city.
Although the five networks operating under these expiring licenses are based on outdated analogue technology and use systems such as AMPS, or Advanced Mobile Phone Service, and TACS, or Total Access Communications Systems, part of their spectrum actually coincides with the spectrum designated for 3G networks.
However, Wong of the OFTA stressed that the arrangement, which could in effect boost 3G spectrum available in Hong Kong, "is only a possibility."
(This story was originally published by Dow Jones Newswires)
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Copyright (C) 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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