THE new head of the Government's telecommunications body said that companies wanting to compete with Hongkong Telecom on local calls would not get approval in June, the original deadline, and may have to wait until Christmas. At least two other policy issues are moving slower than expected - all benefiting Hongkong Telecom, say rivals who claim they will be able to offer a better service and perhaps lower rental charges than the $56 a month charged by Hongkong Telecom. Mr Alex Arena, of the Office of the Telecommunications Authority, yesterday told a conference on deregulation organised by the Institute of International Research that the original schedule ''proved to be somewhat ambitious''. The delay meant a ''smaller market window'', said Mr Vince Lam Tin-yan, vice-president for planning for Wharf Communications Investments. ''Hongkong Telecom will be even better prepared.'' The Government received seven submissions in February. Hongkong Telecom's monopoly on basic ''voice service'' expires on July 1, 1995, but bidders may be allowed to operate data and fax services, which can be more lucrative, straight after they get a licence. Wharf, the sole bidder for a cable TV licence, has teamed up with NYNEX of the US in an attempt to operate telephone services over its TV network. It is one of the seven bidders. Mr Arena acknowledged that would-be competitors were keen to start investments, which in Wharf's case would amount to $6 billion. But he defended the delay. ''My experience tells me that a little extra effort in these formative stages may pay substantial dividends later,'' he said. He refused to guarantee that at least one bid would be accepted and indicated that the final announcement may be that an interlocking series of licences would be awarded after secret negotiation between bidders. Even if there was no further delay, the opening of Hongkong Telecom's protected market will still come five years after it was first recommended by consultants and 10 years after the UK and US took a similar route. Also being delayed is the bill which will establish a new price framework for Hongkong Telecom, which will cap price rises to four per cent less than inflation. Every month of delay is costing consumers $40 million by delaying the introduction of price cuts on international routes, analysts say. Mr Arena's own department was scheduled to start operations on April 1, but autumn now looks more likely. Mr Arena is being retained as a consultant to the Postmaster-General while his new agency gets funding from the Legislative Council. According to Mr Lam, unless rule-making is speeded up, new entrant's chances of providing a true alternative to Hongkong Telecom ''could be in jeopardy''. ''We suspect that Wharf Telecom and the other new operators may be in a worse strategic position than any other developed country competitor at an equivalent stage of liberalisation,'' he said. He said new entrants were facing a ''formidable opponent'' and could end up fighting against each other instead of Hongkong Telecom. Mr Gordon Siu Kwing-chue spoke in public for the first time as secretary for economic services and said Mr Arena's new body should have ''a reasonable degree of autonomy from central government''. Mr Peter Howell-Davies, Hongkong Telecom's deputy chief executive, admitted competitors would at first offer cheaper prices than his company but predicted that the company's customer base would still grow.
