1.70 Million Broadband Customers Were Registered in Hong Kong at the End of August 2006.

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c46734) has announced the addition of "Hong Kong SAR Telecommunications Market Intelligence Report 2006" to their offering.

Hong Kong's telecommunications market has been progressively liberalised and is now one of the most sophisticated and successful in the world, reflecting the country's status as a leading business and financial centre. Indeed, the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) claims that gross revenues from the provision of telecommunications services in Hong Kong amounted to HK$46,000 million (US$5,915 million) in 2005, representing a 3.3% increase over the previous year's HK$44,620 million (US$5,737 million).

All sectors of the market have been liberalised with no foreign ownership restrictions. The regulatory regime is pro-competitive and very much in favour of the consumer. There are 10 fixed telecommunications network services (FTNS) operators, led by incumbent PCCW-HKT Ltd (owned by PCCW Ltd) and rival Hutchison Global Communications (HGC), New World Telecommunications (NWT), Wharf T&T, and Hong Kong Broadband Network. Approximately 71% of residential households have access to a choice of fixed-line service providers, although the majority remain served by PCCW-HKT despite the introduction of number portability. There were 3.82 million direct exchange lines (DELs) operated by these 10 companies as of August 2006.

Broadband services are very popular in Hong Kong, with the switch to broadband having led some customers to do away with their traditional fixed telephone line. There were 1.70 million broadband customers registered at the end of August 2006, with more than 700,000 of these customers also accessing video services from PCCW-HKT and others. There are more than 180 ISPs licensed in Hong Kong, but demand for dial-up services is falling and the number of ISPs is set to fall.

Competition is most intense in the wireless telephony sector, with five companies operating 14 digital networks based on a mixture of GSM/GPRS/EDGE, CDMA, and UMTS technologies. There were 9.193 million 2G/2.5G/3G subscribers in Hong Kong at the end of Augist 2006 (latest data), giving a penetration rate in excess of 127%. Consolidation in 2006 saw two operators merge to create a market-leading service provider with a reported 3.0 million subscribers as of mid-2006; this is Telstra-owned CSL New World Mobility. Trailing it by nearly a million subscribers is the former market leader, 3 (owned by the Hutchison group). Having sold CSL some years earlier, PCCW broke back into the wireless market in 2005 by taking a controlling stake in one of the smaller operators, SUNDAY. It had hoped to gain full control of SUNDAY before privatising it, but this scheme ran aground on shareholder disapproval and PCCW may not ultimately choose to keep SUNDAY.

PCCW has its own problems, however, with several private equity groups having made tentative offers for the telecommunications business in mid-2006, before being ousted by a takeover offer from a local businessman. This complex scheme also involves Telefonica SA and China Netcom taking stakes in PCCW and went before a shareholder vote at the end of November 2006. The outcome of this vote was not certain but, if approved, it will see the end of Richard Li's time in charge of the business. Mr Li is not at all happy with the proposed transaction but is powerless to influence the vote in any way.

Each extensive ITI Market Intelligence Report includes the following sections: Economic, Social, Political, and Telecoms Indicators; key data presented in tabular form. Regulation; a summary/overview of the market and regulatory climate, followed by synopses of the regulator's powers and other competition or ministerial bodies to which it reports or with which it co-operates. A summary of the regulations in force, a list of differences in the types of available licences and a list of the licences issued. Market Indicators; the available data is presented in tabular form with commentary and graphics. Major Operators; contact data and company information, including ownership, background where relevant for pan-European carriers, licensed activities, scope of activities/services, recent major equipment contracts, summary of network status, references to major subsidiaries, joint ventures, and alliances. Major Manufacturers; contact data and company information including ownership, background where relevant, manufacturing & distribution activities, recent major equipment contracts, references to major subsidiaries, joint ventures, and alliances. Industry Associations; contact data and organisation information covering background where relevant, activities/objectives and references to members.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c46734