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The Government has decided to create the Unified Carrier Licence (UCL) as a single licensing vehicle for fixed, mobile and/or converged services, subject to the negative vetting of the amendment regulations by the Legislative Council.
Distinction between fixed and mobile networks and services is becoming increasingly blurred due to market and technology developments. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as "Fixed-Mobile Convergence" (FMC). The new UCL regime will enable facility-based operators to provide different services under a single and flexible licensing framework, thereby paving the way for FMC.
Following the publication of the Telecommunications Authority (TA) Statement on UCL last Friday (May 9), the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) today (May 13) briefed the Information Technology and Broadcasting Panel of the Legislative Council about the details of the UCL.
"One salient feature of the UCL is that a new annual number fee component will be applied. This measure is necessary as it should provide the necessary economic incentive to encourage operators to better utilise the numbering resource," a spokesperson of OFTA said.
Based on the current pace of number consumption, if we do not take the necessary preventive actions, the remaining capacity of the 8-digit numbering plan will be exhausted within seven years and we will have to migrate to 9 or 10-digit numbering plan. Since the use of longer digits will have significant adverse impact to the community, we consider it necessary to adopt both economic and administrative measures in order to prolong the life-span of the 8-digit numbering plan. We are pleased that both the Hong Kong Consumer Council and the Hong Kong Telecommunications Users Group, which represent the general consumers and the business sector respectively, are supportive of the measure," the spokesperson continued.
"To cater for the burgeoning growth of the mobile services, the TA will start allocating numbers with prefix-5 for the services later this month. We will continue to be vigilant with the utilisation of the numbering resource and will ensure sufficient supply of numbers in the years ahead to meet the future demand of the industry and the community," the spokesperson added.
"For the protection of consumer interests, we have decided to introduce a licence condition under the UCL to empower the TA to issue codes of practice in connection with consumer affairs, and this will cover matters relating to the better resolution of customer complaints in relation to contractual issues. This should represent a significant step forward in enhancing customer protection in the telecommunications sector," the spokesperson said.
The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development (SCED) conducted a public consultation on the creation of the UCL in December 2007. Separately the TA conducted a public consultation on the detailed licensing framework for the UCL. Both consultations ended on March 4, 2008. After considering the submissions received, the SCED has decided to proceed with the necessary amendments to the existing regulations for creation of the UCL.
Separately, the TA has published the details of the licensing regime in a Statement on May 9, 2008 (which can be downloaded from OFTA's website at www.ofta.gov.hk.). The creation of the licence is subject to negative vetting of the amendment regulations by the Legislative Council.
Upon implementation of UCL, the TA will grant UCLs for all new applications for carrier services. The existing carrier licences issued by the TA will remain in full force until expiry, when they should be replaced by UCLs. All existing fixed and mobile carrier licensees may also apply to the TA to convert their licences into UCLs on a voluntary basis.
Ends/Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Issued at HKT 20:31
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