HKTV's Ricky Wong fears technology 'trap' could land him in jail

Hong Kong Television Network is bound to face legal uncertainties no matter what transmission standard it adopts - but that is a risk the operator should bear, the broadcasting and telecom watchdog said yesterday.

"Is this a trap?" responded HKTV chairman Ricky Wong Wai-kay, rebutting the contention of the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA). "If I fall into this trap I will go to jail."

The exchange came as OFCA refused to give Wong an assurance his station would be able to stick to one transmission standard for 10 years without having to worry about breaking the law.

"We cannot predict what will happen in 10 years' time," deputy director-general of telecommunications Danny Lau Kwong-cheung said.

Wong, who has pledged to seek a judicial review of OFCA's requirement that he get a licence for his planned mobile television service if he uses his preferred format, said the legal battle would begin in one or two weeks if there was no progress.

OFCA earlier recommended that HKTV adopt the China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting (CMMB) standard, suitable only for use on mobile phones, or the European DVB-H standard.

It rejected HKTV's proposal to use the Digital Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcasting (DTMB) standard - used by free stations TVB and ATV. When more than 5,000 households can receive HKTV's service via antennae on their buildings, the station would require a free-to-air or pay-television licence on top of the mobile television licence it bought last year, the watchdog said.