Warning of disruption to mobile users over expansion of 3G telecom market
Consumer chief raises fears over idea to expand city's 3G market, saying that splitting services to allow in another operator could be detrimental
Hong Kong's top consumer rights advocate has described a possible shake-up in the city's 3G mobile market as her "top concern" and questioned the idea that more competition would be a good thing.
Consumer Council chief executive Gilly Wong Fung-han says the potential disruption from splitting services among more operators was worrying because of the huge number of mobile users it could affect.
Speaking publicly for the first time on the issue, Wong told the Sunday Morning Post in an exclusive interview: "Right now we have two different stories - from the telecom operators, who say it will be very detrimental, producing a 27 per cent degradation in service, and the government, which says 9 per cent.
"There is a huge difference between the two figures presented to the public."
State-owned giant China Mobile, the world's biggest mobile operator with 750 million customers, said it would be interested in seeking a licence to capture a slice of the 11 million-strong 3G and 4G Hong Kong market.
But the big four 3G mobile operators - HKT (PCCW), SmarTone, CSL (one2free) and 3 Hong Kong (Hutchison Telecom) - have come out against more competition.