Communications in Hong Kong
Encyclopedia
A wide-ranging and sophisticated communications network has developed in Hong Kong
, reflecting its thriving commerce and international importance.
There are some 60 online
newspapers (in various languages, but mostly Chinese) and the numbers of online periodicals run into the hundreds. The territory is in addition the East
and Southeast Asia
n headquarters for most of the major international communications and media services.
Broadcast media and news is provided by several television and radio companies, one of which is government-run. Television provides the major source of news and entertainment for the average family, and the Chinese television programs produced are not only for local consumption but also for overseas markets.
Hong Kong also ranks as an important centre of publishing and printing: numerous books are published yearly for local consumption, several leading foreign publishers have their regional offices in Hong Kong, and many international magazines are printed in the territory.
Telephones - main lines in use: 3.849 million (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 9.310 million (Feb 2007)
Telephone system: modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services
The telecommunication industry was deregulated in 1995. Competition in this sector is fierce. You can get 10 Mbit/s up and down unlimited VDSL, telephone line rental, unlimited local calls, and 100 minutes of international calls for US$25/month. Telephone line rental and unlimited local calls is only US$3/month.
and TVB, which are free for viewers. The latter, launched in 1967, was the territory's first free-to-air
commercial station, and is currently the predominant TV station in the territory. Paid cable and satellite television have also been widespread. The production of Hong Kong's soap drama, comedy series and variety show
s have reached mass audiences throughout the Chinese-speaking world. Many international and pan-Asian broadcasters are based in Hong Kong, including News Corporation
's STAR TV
. Hong Kong's terrestrial commercial TV networks, TVB
and ATV, can also be seen in neighboring Guangdong
Province and Macau (via cable).
As of November 2009, the company was offering 100 Mbit/s service for $99HK (about $13 U.S.) per month.
Major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) include:
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, reflecting its thriving commerce and international importance.
- See also Telecommunications industry in Hong KongTelecommunications industry in Hong KongHong Kong has one of the most sophisticated and competitive telecommunications markets in the world. As a result, Hong Kong residents get good services in terms of capacity, speed and price. The Office of Telecommunications Authority is the legislative body responsible for regulating the...
There are some 60 online
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
newspapers (in various languages, but mostly Chinese) and the numbers of online periodicals run into the hundreds. The territory is in addition the East
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
n headquarters for most of the major international communications and media services.
Broadcast media and news is provided by several television and radio companies, one of which is government-run. Television provides the major source of news and entertainment for the average family, and the Chinese television programs produced are not only for local consumption but also for overseas markets.
Hong Kong also ranks as an important centre of publishing and printing: numerous books are published yearly for local consumption, several leading foreign publishers have their regional offices in Hong Kong, and many international magazines are printed in the territory.
Telephone
International dialling code: +852Telephones - main lines in use: 3.849 million (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 9.310 million (Feb 2007)
Telephone system: modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services
- domestic: microwave radio relay links and extensive fiber-optic network
- international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean); coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China; access to 5 international submarine cables providing connections to ASEAN member nations, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe
- Major fixed-line operators: Pacific Century Cyber Works
- Major cellular operators: 3, SmarTone-VodafoneSmarTone-VodafoneSmarTone Mobile Communications Limited is a mobile phone operator in Hong Kong. It provides mobile phone service on GSM-900, GSM-1800 and W-CDMA with the brand SmarTone...
, PCCW Mobile(formally Sunday), Peoples, New WorldNew WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
, CSLCSL (mobile phone)CSL Limited is Hong Kong's first and largest mobile communications operator established in 1983. It is now parented by CSL New World Mobility Group, a joint venture company of Telstra Corporation Limited and New World Development... - 3G Licensees: 3 (owned by Hutchison), CSL, SmarTone, Sunday (service provided by PCCW Mobile)
The telecommunication industry was deregulated in 1995. Competition in this sector is fierce. You can get 10 Mbit/s up and down unlimited VDSL, telephone line rental, unlimited local calls, and 100 minutes of international calls for US$25/month. Telephone line rental and unlimited local calls is only US$3/month.
Television
Hong Kong has two broadcast television stations, ATVAsia Television Limited
Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...
and TVB, which are free for viewers. The latter, launched in 1967, was the territory's first free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
commercial station, and is currently the predominant TV station in the territory. Paid cable and satellite television have also been widespread. The production of Hong Kong's soap drama, comedy series and variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
s have reached mass audiences throughout the Chinese-speaking world. Many international and pan-Asian broadcasters are based in Hong Kong, including News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
's STAR TV
STAR TV
Satellite Television Asia Region is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. It is headquartered in Hong Kong, with regional offices in mainland China, Taiwan....
. Hong Kong's terrestrial commercial TV networks, TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited
Television Broadcasts Limited, commonly known as TVB, is the second over-the-air commercial television station in Hong Kong. It commenced broadcasting on 19 November 1967...
and ATV, can also be seen in neighboring Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
Province and Macau (via cable).
Internet
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 179 (May 2007)- Dial-up access accounts: 0.99 million (Mar 2007)
- Broadband Internet access accounts: 1.79 million (Mar 2007)
- Country code (Top-level domain): .hk.hk.hk is the designated Internet country code top-level domain for Hong Kong. Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation is the only organization endorsed by the Hong Kong Government to undertake the administration of 'hk' domain names...
Broadband Internet access
As of April 2006 HKBN offers its customers internet access with speeds starting from 10 Mbit/s up to 1000 Mbit/s (1 Gbit/s) via Fiber to the building and Fiber to the Home. However the speed to non-Hong Kong destinations is capped to 20 Mbit/s.As of November 2009, the company was offering 100 Mbit/s service for $99HK (about $13 U.S.) per month.
Major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) include:
- PCCWPCCWPCCW Limited is the holding company of HKT Group Holdings Limited, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications provider in the Information and Communications Technologies industry. PCCW also holds a majority interest in Pacific Century Premium Developments Limited...
NetvigatorNetvigatorNetvigator is the first and largest residential Internet service provider in Hong Kong, operated as a brand of PCCW. The company did offer iTV, an interactive movie television network that allowed users to watch movies on their TV screen by demand. The service ended in 2002...
, with a 95% coverage area and providing internet access to 1.9 million users. ADSL connections, speeds up to 8M/800K are priced differently. Newly constructed apartments have ADSL2 and VDSL connections, which have speeds up to 30M/10M. FTTH for last mile broadband of speeds up to 1G/1G. Business plans may have speeds up to 10G/10G. - HGCHutchison Global CommunicationsHutchison Global Communications is a major Internet service provider for Hong Kong....
ADSL & VDSL broadband of speeds up to 100M/100M. - NWT ADSL & VDSL broadband of speeds up to 10M/10M.
- HKBN Metro EthernetMetro EthernetA Metro Ethernet is a computer network that covers a metropolitan area and that is based on the Ethernet standard. It is commonly used as a metropolitan access network to connect subscribers and businesses to a larger service network or the Internet...
(CAT-5E/FTTH for last mile) broadband of speeds up to 1G/1G. - One Broadband ADSL broadband of speeds up to 8M/256K.
- I-cable Broadband Cable Broadband of speeds up to 130M/10M shared by one tower (tens of apartments).
Internet censorship in Hong Kong
- In March 1995, Hong Kong police raided all but one of the pioneering local ISPs offering dialup service, confiscated their servers and records and shut them down for a week blocking the access of 5000 to 8000 of Hong Kong's early internet adopters. The heavy-handed raids were thought to be instigated by Supernet (the one ISP not shut down) and coordinated by the Office of Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) working with the Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) on the premise that the ISPs were operating without applying for a then-obscure Public Non-Exclusive Telecommunications Service (PNETS) License. Companies shut down were: Hong Kong Internet & Gateway Services (HKIGS) hk.net, Hong Kong Link InfoLink Ilink, Internet Online Hong Kong, Cybernet, Internet Connections and Asia Online.
- On 27 January 2008, The Hong Kong Police Force arrested suspects who were accused of uploading pornographic imagesEdison Chen photo scandalThe Edison Chen photo scandal involved the illegal distribution over the Internet of intimate and private photographs of Hong Kong actor Edison Chen with various women, including actresses Gillian Chung, Bobo Chan, Rachel Ngan and Cecilia Cheung. The scandal shook the Hong Kong entertainment...
after a multi-billion entertainment company filed a complaint about these photos available on the internet having been fabricated and might charge the offender for defamation.http://article23.net/ The charges were dropped in mid-February.
See also
- Media in Hong Kong, Newspapers of Hong KongNewspapers of Hong KongThis is a list of newspapers in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is home to many of Asia's biggest English and Chinese language newspapers. The territory has one of the world's largest press industries and is a major centre for print journalism.-Popularity:...
- Communications in MacauCommunications in MacauOwing to Macau's population and its small market, only a few options are available for the local people on media. With the fact that radio signals, newspapers and magazines from Hong Kong are available in Macau, the local media are always a minority group in terms of sales and number of...
- Television in Hong Kong
- List of Chinese language television channels
- Telecommunications industry in Hong KongTelecommunications industry in Hong KongHong Kong has one of the most sophisticated and competitive telecommunications markets in the world. As a result, Hong Kong residents get good services in terms of capacity, speed and price. The Office of Telecommunications Authority is the legislative body responsible for regulating the...