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The following is issued on behalf of the Broadcasting Authority:
The key to Hong Kong's success in the advanced communications field is a combination of marketplace competition and a common sense policy framework which is conducive to business development.
The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mrs Rita Lau, said this while addressing the opening session of the 39th Annual Conference of the International Institute of Communications (IIC) today (November 3).
"Consistent with our business-friendly philosophy of "market leads and government facilitates", we have put in place a light-handed regulatory regime for the communications industry," Mrs Lau said, citing Hong Kong's fully liberalised telecommunications market and technology-neutral regulatory regime for TV services.
Highlighting Hong Kong's strong and robust communications infrastructure, Mrs Lau noted that Hong Kong is a world leader in transforming its infrastructure from copper wire to fibre optics and to wireless services, and its mobile telephony penetration rate has exceeded 150%.
On the availability of content, Mrs Lau noted that Hong Kong, a compact city with a population of just seven million, offers viewers a choice of over 300 television channels.
Looking ahead, Mrs Lau said the emergence of new media platforms driven by advances in technology not only opened up new markets for the communications industry, but also brought new challenges for the community, such as how to effectively protect content against piracy and how to safeguard minors from content that might be harmful to them.
"We are engaging the public in consultation over the above two issues. I want to stress that any new proposals will not be allowed to undermine our core values. We will continue to protect the free flow of information and freedom of expression," Mrs Lau said.
Entitled "Trends in Global Communications: Capturing the High Ground in an Uncertain World", the IIC is co-hosted by the Broadcasting Authority and the Office of the Telecommunications Authority. The two-day conference attracted more than 130 delegates in the communications sector from some 25 economies to exchange views on current trends in global communications.
Also speaking at the conference, the Chairman of the Broadcasting Authority, Mr. Daniel R. Fung, echoed Mrs Lau's analysis of the broadcasting and telecommunications landscape in Hong Kong.
"Hong Kong's technology-neutral, liberal, light-handed regulatory approach has created an environment that promotes innovation, investment and competition for the benefits of consumers. We are pleased that this has resulted in vibrant broadcasting and telecommunications industries, which strengthen Hong Kong's position as a regional broadcasting hub," he said.
Focusing on key developments in communications and how these trends are transforming peoples' lives, this year's event provides a forum for the exchange of perspectives and experience on key trends and developments of the communications sector among an international mix of participants from industry, governments and academia.
Speakers at the conference are prominent figures in the communications sector from around the world, including Mr Houlin Zhao, Deputy Secretary General, International Telecommunication Union; Mr Arne Wessberg, President, IIC; and Mr Len Katz, Vice-chairman, Telecommunications, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
The conference organiser, based in London, is an international independent non-profit-making organisation comprising senior policy makers, regulators, scholars and industry players embracing broadcasting, telecommunications and new media in some 70 countries. The IIC Annual Conferences in 2006 and 2007 were held in Kuala Lumpur and London respectively. The next one will be held in Montreal.
Detailed information about the conference is available at www.iicom.org/annual-conference/index.php
Ends/Monday, November 3, 2008
Issued at HKT 10:36
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