Press Release

 

 

Speech by the Postmaster General

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Following is the speech by the Postmaster General, Mr Luk Ping-chuen, at the press conference with Baltimore Technologies on collaboration to enable secure mobile commerce in Hong Kong today (January 29):

Good afternoon Mr Fran Rooney, ladies and gentlemen, and friends from the media,

Welcome to this press briefing.

Hongkong Post is pleased to announce today the collaboration with Baltimore Technologies for providing mobile certification service in Hong Kong.

Over the past few years, we have witnessed the phenomenal growth in the use of Internet and mobile telephony in Hong Kong. We have now over two million Internet users and over four million mobile phone users. It is encouraging to see that the increasing trend is still unabated. With the convergence of mobile technology, the Internet and handheld computing, we can now have the information we need at our finger tips wherever we go, and we are able to conduct transactions while we are on the move with the use of convenient mobile devices.

Wireless Internet access service was introduced in Hong Kong in December 1999, and now all six mobile operators are offering such a service to their customers. Given Hong Kong's high mobile penetration rate and with the development of more and more business applications specifically designed for wireless devices, we believe that the number of users accessing the Internet through mobile devices will increase rapidly in the near future.

Yet no matter how powerful the Web or wireless computing becomes, the issue of security in the conducting of mobile commerce cannot be ignored. Today's announcement precisely addresses one of the most important issues - security in mobile commerce. Hongkong Post, together with our valued partner Baltimore Technologies, will jointly develop and introduce Public Key Infrastructure-based secure mobile certificates in an effort to support development of mobile commerce in Hong Kong. With the introduction of secure mobile certification services, businesses and individuals can conduct mobile transactions with authenticity, confidentiality, integrity and non-repudiation. They will know that the information which goes out over the wireless networks is protected under the secure and reliable environment provided by Hongkong Post Certification Authority.

Being the first public Certification Authority in Hong Kong, Hongkong Post has always been a committed enabler in the development of both e-commerce and mobile commerce, which will help boost the confidence of businesses and individuals in secure on-line and mobile transactions. We look forward to the success of our collaboration with Baltimore Technologies in the provision of mobile certification service in Hong Kong.

Thank you.

End/Monday, January 29, 2001

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