Hong Kong - Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Forecasts

Accelerated LTE and FttX deployments in Hong Kong fuel a rising demand for data

Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, has built one of the most sophisticated and dynamic telecommunications markets in the world. Hong Kong’s regulator, the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA), has played a major role in developing the telecom sector. The country has put in place substantial infrastructure which supports one of the world’s highest penetrations of mobile and fixed telephone services at around 210% and 50% respectively. In addition to Hong Kong’s strong technology edge, its close geographical proximity to mainland China makes it a key gateway for all foreign telecom companies and equipment vendors. Hong Kong is also a key regional telecommunications hub and is the landing point for a significant number of strategically important submarine cables.

Hong Kong provides 85% of all households with access to broadband connectivity. The number of broadband subscribers represents about 75% of the total internet subscriber base, supported by a large number of ISPs. The extensive FttX, DSL and cable coverage coupled with a large fibre optic footprint has driven the market for triple play services and IPTV.

The mobile market continues to evolve as operators ready themselves for deploying LTE services. The market shows few signs of cooling and the cycle of a new technology and the subsequent battle for market share is about to begin again, even while 3G deployment has yet to reach its peak.

Key Highlights:

In a densely packed market that has over 2 million TV households, there were over 1.3 million IPTV subscribers and over 1.1 million cable TV subscribers in Hong Kong going into 2012

3G/4Gsubscriptions continue to grow in a competitive market and consisted of over 50% of total mobile subscribers.

A continued boom in mobile communications, in particular in mobile data is driving the need for additional spectrum. Total mobile data usage has witnessed an explosive growth with a year-on-year increase of 189% and on average each 2.5G and 3G subscriber sends 400Mbytes per month.

Fibre deployments continue to expand to over 60% of all broadband subscriptions and has resulted in Hong Kong becoming a world leader in terms of its broadband connection speed and competitive pricing.

Hong Kong – Key performance indicators – 2010 - 2012

Sector | 2010 | 2012 (e)
Internet subscribers (million)
Internet users | 5.60 | 5.90
Internet subscribers | 2.87 | 3.03
Broadband subscribers (million)
Total | 2.12 | 2.35
FttX | 1.10 | 1.50
Subscribers to Telecoms Services
Fixed-line telephone subscribers (million) | 3.68 | 3.52
Mobile phone subscribers (million) | 13.40 | 16.00
3G market share of mobile base | 39% | 56%
(Source: BuddeComm)