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It is important to be properly prepared before embarking on a trip to country parks.
¡°While concerned Government departments and organisations have advised hikers to make good preparations before they set out for a walk in the country parks, such as to check the weather conditions, read the publications on hiking produced by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, and avoid hiking alone, the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) would like to remind hikers to bring along mobile phones, preferably with walkie-talkies, know how to make the best use of them and read the digital maps on OFTA¡¯s web site showing mobile phone network coverage on individual hiking trails,¡± said a spokesperson for OFTA today (February 20).
¡°When there is an emergency, hikers can try dialling 112 using their mobile phones for help. So long as the location is covered by any one of the local mobile phone networks, a call to 112 will be connected to the 999 emergency call centre,¡± added the spokesperson.
If a hiker¡¯s mobile phone has roamed to a Mainland network, he/she can use the roaming service by dialling 00852 plus the relevant phone number to call his/her family or a friend, or the local police station nearby. When seeking assistance, the caller should identify his/her location by telling the number on the nearest distance post or any prominent landmark nearby.
OFTA has been coordinating with mobile network operators to facilitate the setting up of new base stations to serve visitors in the country parks. Last year, with operators¡¯ and OFTA¡¯s concerted efforts, the number of base stations in country parks increased to 12. More base stations will come into operation this year to provide better mobile network coverage in country parks, including southern Lantau, Tai Lam Chung and eastern Sai Kung.
OFTA reminded hikers that owing to Hong Kong¡¯s hilly terrain and the characteristics of radio propagation, it was unavoidable that some locations had no or poor mobile network coverage. Hikers should not rely solely on mobile phones to seek emergency help.
To provide more information on mobile network coverage in country parks to the public, OFTA started a survey along popular hiking trails last year. Based on the latest survey results, 133 digital maps covering the same number of popular hiking trails in Hong Kong have been produced and posted on OFTA's website http://www.ofta.gov.hk/en/ca_bd/country_map/main.html.
In the maps, three different colours are used along the trails to denote the availability of mobile service coverage. The green colour indicates that the signal of at least one local mobile network is good. The yellow colour indicates that the voice quality of calls may be poor, and the red colour indicates that there is no network coverage. At locations marked with green or yellow, hikers subscribing to any GSM network may dial 112 to contact the 999 emergency call centre. The digital maps also show the locations of public phones and emergency helplines.
¡°We recommend that hikers should take walkie-talkies with them to maintain close communications with team members,¡± said the OFTA spokesperson. ¡°Walkie-talkie users usually set aside channel 9 exclusively for emergency communications. Users should disable the 'tone squelch' of their walkie-talkies to monitor emergency communications. When there is an emergency call from channel 9, we hope users will offer assistance immediately as far as possible.¡±
It is recommended that hikers should follow the procedure below when making emergency assistance requests using walkie-talkies:
1. Press the ¡°send¡± button of the walkie-talkie. Say ¡°help¡± or other concise emergency messages three times. State (the caller¡¯s) name.
2. Release the ¡°send¡± button. Listen for response. If no one answers, wait for 30 seconds and try again.
3. When there is a response, state name, help wanted and location, such as the number on the nearest distance post or any prominent landmark nearby. Stay at the location and wait for help.
There are two types of walkie-talkies permitted for public use in Hong Kong. No licence is required for using them for voice communication. The first type operates at 409 MHz and offers 20 voice channels. The second type, known as the Citizens Band Radio, operates at 27 MHz and offers 40 voice channels.
The 409 MHz walkie-talkies are smaller in size and suitable for short-range communication. They are widely available on the market at reasonable prices. Consumers should purchase walkie-talkies with the label prescribed by OFTA to ensure they are suitable for use in Hong Kong.
For more information about the use of communications devices in country parks, please visit OFTA¡¯s web site (http://www.ofta.gov.hk/en/ca_bd/stay-in-touch.html).
Ends/Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Issued at HKT 11:00
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