TV firms reject broadband planWireless access will interfere with satellite signals, hit revenues and hurt reputations, operators claim
A government plan to issue wireless broadband permits next year has upset Hong Kong's satellite and pay-television operators, who claim that interference from the internet technology could disrupt satellite transmissions and affect more than two million households.
The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (Ofta) has proposed issuing broadband wireless access (BWA) permits in the 3.4GHz to 3.6GHz band.
Without proper measures, this could interfere with satellite signals in the same and adjacent frequencies, the firms have complained.
In response to a consultation on BWA licensing, Star Group told the regulator that ongoing technology trials have already disrupted its satellite operations - an effect likely to worsen once wireless broadband is deployed across the city.
Star, which receives and transmits TV content from its satellite dishes in Hunghom, Stanley and Tai Po, said signal clutter had interfered with its operations on at least four occasions in the past year.