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| No.3 June, 2011 |
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Hong Kong enjoys the lowest telecommunications service charges |
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 An international tariff benchmarking study commissioned by the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) found that residential and business users in Hong Kong pay as little as one-tenth of the telecommunications charges paid by their counterparts in six other cities under study.
OFTA released the findings of the study in May, which compares the prices of telecommunications services in Hong Kong with those in Copenhagen, London, New York, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo. The consultant commissioned by OFTA surveyed the tariffs of fixed and mobile voice services, fixed and mobile broadband services, and leased lines and pay-TV services in the seven cities in September 2010.
"The survey results show that Hong Kong compares very favourably with the other six cities in the study. Residential and business users in Hong Kong generally pay the lowest telecommunications charges and, for certain services the price Hong Kong users pay represents only a fraction of that in other cities," a spokesman for the OFTA said.
"At a monthly charge of HK$60 (US$7.7) for fixed voice services, an average residential user in Hong Kong pays only 8 to 45% of the price paid by customers in the other six cities. Similarly, at a monthly charge of HK$60 for mobile voice service, an average residential user in Hong Kong pays only 10 to 48% of that of their counterparts in the other six cities," the spokesman said.
"The study also found that the telecommunications costs for some businesses in Hong Kong constitute only 12 to 32% of the costs incurred by similar businesses in the other six cities. While Hong Kong's fixed broadband charges for business are comparatively more expensive, this is offset by our low fixed voice tariff and competitive fees for leased lines. The net effect is an overall low cost telecommunications environment for the business sector in Hong Kong," the spokesman added.
OFTA commissioned similar studies in 2003, 2005 and 2008. These studies, together with the current one, show that Hong Kong has consistently maintained its position over the years as one of the least expensive markets for telecommunications services.
Hong Kong is also a market leader in broadband connection and service quality. According to a report published by the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council in September 2010, Hong Kong ranked third in the coverage of fibre-to-the-home and fibre-to-the-building networks with a household penetration of 34%.
A study conducted by Oxford University in 2010 also revealed that Hong Kong ranked second in the global broadband leadership table, in terms of throughput, latency, ability to handle specific internet applications and broadband penetration.
"All these factors demonstrate the success of our pro-competition policy and pro-market approach, with consumers and business users in Hong Kong enjoying quality telecommunications services at affordable prices," the spokesman said.
Main report:
www.ofta.gov.hk/en/report-paper-guide/report/rp20110508.pdf
Appendix:
www.ofta.gov.hk/en/report-paper-guide/report/rp20110508_appendix.pdf |
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