The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) today issues an industry consultation paper on the licensing framework for third generation (3G) mobile services.

The consultation paper seeks views from the industry on a number of issues concerning the licensing of 3G services including the regulatory regime, the technical standards to be adopted, the spectrum allocation plan in Hong Kong, the number of operators to be licensed, the amount of spectrum to be allocated to each operator and the method for the selection of licensees.

3G services are the next generation of mobile communication services and are capable of offering a variety of services, which cannot be provided by the existing "second generation" mobile services. They could offer data rates up to 2 Megabits per second and would be able to deliver broadband multi-media communication services.

"As we progress towards an information based society, users would no longer be satisfied with the narrowband capabilities of the current generation of mobile services. 3G will become the future platform for all forms of mobile broadband multi-media and e-commerce services," said a spokesperson of OFTA.

OFTA aims to invite applications for 3G licences towards the end of this year when the licensing framework is finalised after this consultation exercise. Commercial services are expected to be available in 2001.

"The present timetable will enable the people of Hong Kong to enjoy 3G mobile services soonest possible. We believe that this will further reinforce the position of Hong Kong at the cutting edge of new telecommunications technologies," said OFTA's spokesperson.

The consultation paper identified a number of options, which can accommodate four to six operators for 3G services. Multiple technical standards adopted by the International Telecommunication Union may be used provided that they are compatible from the users' point of view and compatible with the spectrum allocation plan in Hong Kong.

The consultation paper can be viewed or downloaded at OFTA's homepage at www.ofta.gov.hk. Comments on the paper should reach the Telecommunications Authority on or before 22 May 2000.

Office of the Telecommunications Authority
21 March 2000