Hong Kong’s smart city vision in a fog as mobile firms and satellite operators fight over 5G bandwidth

Hong Kong’s vision of becoming a technology-driven smart city has run into a snag as mobile operators and satellite companies find themselves stuck in complex negotiations over the right to use a crucial part of the wireless broadband spectrum.

At issue is the so-called C-band, a frequency range key to developing next-generation, ultra-fast 5G networks, which themselves are crucial to the functioning of a smart city. In Hong Kong, the C-band is used by the city’s two satellite operators, AsiaSat and APT Satellite, under a legally binding arrangement, but the four mobile operators want access to it to pursue their 5G ambitions.

Hong Kong unveiled its “Smart City Blueprint” at the end of 2017, saying it aimed to enhance the city’s attractiveness to global businesses and “inspire continuous city innovation and sustainable economic development”. But any delays could prove costly as mainland China and other countries in the region forge ahead with their own smart plans.

“I think Hong Kong should definitely not be complacent,” said Irene Chu, head of new economy for KPMG China. “There are major government initiatives in the Greater Bay Area and smart cities. A lot of these things demand bigger capacity, as provided by 5G.”

The Greater Bay Area plan envisages integrating Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in southern Guangdong province into a business, science and technology hub. China, Chu said, has already allocated spectrum for 5G in first-tier cities, with pilot projects due to launch in 2019. The investments are huge, she said, but demand would also be huge.

5G promises significantly higher levels of data transmission and speed that will connect smartphones, self-driving cars, the internet of things – smart home appliances for example – and all the other aspects of technology that make a city smart. For telecoms operators, that means new revenue streams.