Mobile penetration exceeds 140pc

Hong Kong’s mobile phone penetration was well over 140 per cent, Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Rita Lau Ng Wai-lan said on Wednesday.

Mrs Lau, discussing Hong Kong’s information communications technology (ICT) industry at the Asian-Oceanian Computer Industry Organisation’s gala dinner in Singapore, said: “Through the pro-market and liberalisation policy we have adopted for the telecommunications industry, we have witnessed healthy competition which has enabled Hong Kong to be one of the world’s most affordable internet and mobile phone services.”

Mrs Lau said that to develop the territory into a “digital wireless city through market forces and government investment”, 2,500 Wi-Fi hotspots would be progressively installed – on top of the present 5,000 the city offered.

These hotspots would be built at public venues and facilities such as libraries, community centres and parks for free public access.

The commerce secretary said: “When you come to Hong Kong for the ICT summit next year, we will be able to offer you the convenience of this extensive free wireless connectivity.

“In equipping ourselves with an infrastructure that supports ubiquity, we have to be mindful of the need to provide a secure environment for business to flourish,” she said.

But Mrs Lau said that even though the overall impact of technology was positive, there was concern over information security and infringement of intellectual property rights.

She called for greater co-operation between countries to solve these problems.

“The cyber world perhaps calls for even greater collaboration of the ICT industries and the governments for development and coping with the challenges, and regional co-operation will play a pivotal part,” Mrs Lau added.