Demographics and culture of Hong Kong |
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Demographics |
Culture |
Other Hong Kong topics |
Communications in Hong Kong includes a wide-ranging and sophisticated network of radio, television, telephone, Internet, and related online services, reflecting Hong Kong's thriving commerce and international importance.
There are some 60 online newspapers (in various languages, but mostly in Traditional Chinese) and the numbers of online periodicals run into the hundreds. The territory is in addition the East and Southeast Asian 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. Chinese television programs are produced for both local and 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.
There are a total of nine terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, owned by three television networks, one of which is a public broadcaster.
Hong Kong's terrestrial commercial TV networks can also be seen in Macau, via cable.
Television Broadcasts Limited operates TVB Jade, TVB Pearl, J2, TVB News and J5, of which Jade and Pearl are available on analogue frequencies. TVB is the city's first commercial terrestrial television network (Asia Television (ATV) began as a subscription television network), and is the city's predominant TV network.
HK Television Entertainment operates ViuTV, which is a Cantonese general entertainment channel. The network is mandated by its service license to launch a 17-hour English television channel on or before 31 March 2017. [1]
ViuTV does not broadcast on analogue frequencies.
Public broadcaster RTHK operates three digital channels, two of which have been simulcast on analogue frequencies formerly used by ATV since April 2, 2016.
Paid cable and satellite television have also been widespread, with Cable TV Hong Kong, Now TV, TVB Network Vision and HKBN bbTV being the more prominent providers.
The production of Hong Kong's soap drama, comedy series and variety shows 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.
The Hong Kong telecommunication industry was deregulated in 1995. There are no foreign ownership restrictions. The Office of Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) is the legislative body responsible for regulating the telecommunications industry. Competition in this sector is fierce. Since 2008, one 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.
As of July 2017 [update] , the penetration rate in Hong Kong was estimated at 240.8% over a population estimate of over 7.325 million. [2] [3] [4] Hong Kong's telecom regulator is the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA).
Rank | Operator | Technology | Subscribers (in millions) | Ownership |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | HKT (including csl, 1O1O and Club SIM) | GSM-900/1800 (GPRS, EDGE) 900/2100 MHz UMTS, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ 900/1800/2600(B7) MHz LTE-A | 4.324 [5] (Dec 2018) | PCCW Limited (Pacific Century Group 28.97%, China Unicom 19.9%) |
2 | 3 Hong Kong | GSM-900/1800 (GPRS, EDGE) 900 MHz UMTS, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ 900/1800/2100/2600(B7)/2300(B40) MHz LTE-A | 3.276 [6] (Dec 2018) | Hutchison Telecom |
3 (?) | CMHK (China Mobile Hong Kong) | GSM-1800 (GPRS, EDGE) 2100 MHz UMTS, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ 900/1800/2100/2600(B7)/2300(B40) MHz LTE-A | 5 [7] (Jun 2021) | China Mobile |
4 | SmarTone | GSM-900/1800 (GPRS) 850/2100 MHz UMTS, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+ 900/1800/2100/2600(B7) MHz LTE-A | 2.47 [8] (Dec 2018) | Sun Hung Kai Properties |
5 | CUniq HK (China Unicom Hong Kong) | Using 3 Hong Kong | 0.87 [9] (Oct 2018) | China Unicom |
6 | Hong Kong Broadband Network | Using CMHK and SmarTone | 0.277 [10] (Oct 2019) | HKBN Ltd. |
7 | SUN Mobile | Using CSL Mobile | N/A | HKT (60%), Telecom Digital (40%) |
8 | Birdie Mobile | Using SmarTone | N/A | SmarTone Mobile Communications Limited [11] |
9 | CTExcel Archived 8 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine | N/A | China Telecom |
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 HK$99 (about $13 US) per month.[ needs update ]
Major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) include:[ needs update ]
Hong Kong law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the government generally respects these rights in practice. Although freedom of expression is protected by the Hong Kong Bill of Rights, the Hong Kong national security law gives the government the power to "take down any electronic messages published" that the government considers endangering national security. [17] [18] No government licenses are required to operate a website. Democratic activists claim central government authorities closely monitor their e-mails and Internet use. [19]
Telecommunications in Ireland operate in a regulated competitive market that provides customers with a wide array of advanced digital services. This article explores Ireland's telecommunications infrastructure including: fixed and mobile networks, The voice, data and Internet services, cable television, developments in next-generation networks and broadcast networks for radio and television.
The primary regulator of telecommunications in Malaysia is the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). It issues licenses under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, the Postal Services Act 2012 and the Digital Signature Act 1997.
Telecommunications infrastructure in South Africa provides modern and efficient service to urban areas, including cellular and internet services. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is the watchdog of the telecommunications in the country.
In telecommunications, broadband or high speed is the wide-bandwidth data transmission that exploits signals at a wide spread of frequencies or several different simultaneous frequencies, and is used in fast Internet access. The transmission medium can be coaxial cable, optical fiber, wireless Internet (radio), twisted pair cable, or satellite.
Very high-speed digital subscriber line (VDSL) and very high-speed digital subscriber line 2 (VDSL2) are digital subscriber line (DSL) technologies providing data transmission faster than the earlier standards of asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) G.992.1, G.992.3 (ADSL2) and G.992.5 (ADSL2+).
A digital subscriber line access multiplexer is a network device, often located in telephone exchanges, that connects multiple customer digital subscriber line (DSL) interfaces to a high-speed digital communications channel using multiplexing techniques. Its cable internet (DOCSIS) counterpart is the cable modem termination system.
City Telecom (H.K.) Limited was a Hong Kong telecommunications group that was established in 1992. It was a provider of fixed line, international direct dialing services, and later an internet service provider via a subsidiary and brand Hong Kong Broadband Network. After selling its main business, the parent company was renamed Hong Kong Television Network in order to attempt to enter the free-to-air television market of Hong Kong.
TransACT is the trading name of TransACT Capital Communications, an Australian telecommunications company based in Canberra which provides broadband internet access, fixed telephony, cable television services, and mobile phone services in Canberra and a subset of these services in Queanbeyan, throughout South-east New South Wales and in Victoria.
In the field of telecommunications, the concept of triple play service refers to the provision of three essential services — high-speed broadband Internet access, television, and latency-sensitive telephone services — all delivered over a single broadband connection. This approach emphasizes the convergence of multiple services by a single supplier, aiming to enhance user convenience and streamline service delivery.
HKBN Ltd., commonly known for its subsidiary Hong Kong Broadband Network Limited, is a Hong Kong-based Internet, communication and telecommunication company. HKBN was established on 23 August 1999, it is one of the largest residential and enterprise internet, communication and telecommunications service providers in Hong Kong.
Fiber to the x or fiber in the loop is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber optic cables are able to carry much more data than copper cables, especially over long distances, copper telephone networks built in the 20th century are being replaced by fiber.
Síminn hf., previously named Landssíminn and Póstur og Sími, is an Icelandic telecommunications company. It offers communication services for both private and corporate clients, including mobile (2G/3G/4G/5G), landline (VoIP/POTS), Internet (ADSL/VDSL/FTTH) and IPTV services. Síminn also operates multiple TV channels and streaming services. Síminn is listed on the Icelandic stock exchange.
Internet in Brazil was launched in 1988, becoming commercialy available in May 1995. As of 2023, Brazil ranked fifth in the world with 181.8 million internet users. The country had an internet penetration rate of 86.6% as of January 2024. In March 2024, Brazil ranked 27th in the Ookla Broadband Ranking, with a median fixed broadband speed of 158.57 Mbit/s. Also, as per December 2021, Brazil had 41,4 million fixed broadband accesses, most of them FTTH. However, as per 2020, most Brazilians access the Internet through a mobile connection, with more than 200 million mobile internet access.
The prevalent means of connecting to the Internet in Germany is DSL, introduced by Deutsche Telekom in 1999. Other technologies such as Cable, FTTH and FTTB (fiber), Satellite, UMTS/HSDPA (mobile) and LTE are available as alternatives.
The term "Internet in Poland" refers to various aspects related to the state of the Internet in the Republic of Poland. This encompasses issues such as Internet access, governance, freedom, and infrastructure, as well as social, economic, and political factors that contribute to the digital landscape in Poland.
New World Telecommunications Limited also known as New World Telecom, was a fixed line provider of Hong Kong S.A.R., China. It was a subsidiary of New World Development, via New World Telephone Holdings; New World Telecommunications was acquired by a competitor, Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN) in February 2016. In the same year New World Telecommunications was renamed to HKBN Enterprise Solutions, as a subsidiary of HKBN.
WTT HK Limited, was the second largest fixed-line telecommunication operator in Hong Kong. In 2018, it was acquired by competitor HKBN and renamed to HKBN Enterprise Solutions HK Limited.
Ricky Wong Wai-kay is a telecom and media entrepreneur in Hong Kong. He is the chairman and founder of Hong Kong Television Network, and the founder of Hong Kong Broadband Network. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees, United College, the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
HKT Limited, also known as Hong Kong Telecom, is one of the largest telecommunications companies in Hong Kong. It has a dominant position in fixed-line, mobile, IDD and broadband services in Hong Kong. HKT Group is a subsidiary of PCCW since 2000, after it was acquired from Cable & Wireless plc.
This article incorporates public domain material from "Hong Kong". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA . Retrieved 3 July 2012. (Archived 2012 edition.)
香港電視娛樂會在二零一七年三月三十一日或之前開設一條英語頻道,每日廣播合共17小時 (HK Television Entertainment will open an English language television channel on or before 31 March 2017. The channel will air programmes for 17 hours per day.)