Jake's View | Keep telecoms firms on long-term deals
Allowing new player in the mobile-network market will not bring more competition but service disruptions and higher charges
Our public officials like to crow that Hong Kong's telecommunications are the most competitive in the world, and they can indeed congratulate themselves on the transition from a stodgy, consumer-gouging monopoly 30 years ago.
But whether the accolade will continue to be deserved is now in question.
Things look suspiciously as though the authorities are willing to tolerate higher tariffs and lower service standards in order to please interests across the border.
The circumstances involve the expiry in 2016 of licences for the 3G mobile services that now carry the bulk of Hong Kong's mobile-phone traffic.
A decision on the structure of these licences post-2016 must be made by October. The four existing operators will otherwise have little incentive to continue investing in networks that they may shortly lose.
Three options have been proposed. The first is to grant existing operators first refusal on their licences post-2016, which effectively means straight-through continuity for them. The second would put all the licences up for a new auction to all bidders. But the third option is the important one here, as it is favoured by the Communications Authority. It is to take about a third of the spectrum away from the existing operators and auction it to an unspecified newcomer.