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Sarah Karacs

Ben Westcott

As world citizens become more reliant on high-speed internet, government agencies are becoming increasingly more invested in pushing through legislation that forces operators to provide equal internet access across jurisdictions.
The United States Federal Communications Commission this year set a mandate to push for equal access to high-speed broadband (25 mbps) across the country where currently 17 per cent of citizens are missing out.
It classifies this lack of widespread broadband deployment as a failure to keep pace with the modern advances in technology.
Similar pledges have been echoed across the developed world where the internet is beginning to be considered a utility as integral to modern communities as electricity and water.
In contrast, critics see the Hong Kong government's failure to enable widespread broadband deployment across the city as a threat to its status as a world city and tech hub.
"Most of us are beginning to think the internet should be a utility, we should all have access to it, but they [broadband providers] only put high fibre in densely-populated places," said IT specialist and longstanding Lamma resident Vince Loden.

"How do students and schools manage? I've spoken to teachers trying to teach with iPads that can't connect to the internet - it's affecting education.
"A lot of people here are trying to run businesses. We have a lot of designers and they need to send large files, which is sometimes impossible to do from home."
Unlike many developed countries, the Hong Kong government does not set a benchmark for internet broadband speeds and services, meaning providers do not get sanctioned for failing to offer equal coverage across regions. Nor are they subject to punitive action if they fail to provide the broadband speeds they pledge.
"The problem with regulation is that regulators only look at the existing rules of the game," said IT sector legislator Charles Mok.
Mok has been pushing for a review of telecommunications policy, citing how the open market makes it difficult to hold underperforming operators to account.
The Office of the Communications Authority has reported more than 900 complaints about the quality of internet services in Hong Kong since 2011, out of which only four were upheld.
"The rules aren't good enough to help take care of the problem," Mok said.
A minimum broadband speed must be set by the Hong Kong government, Mok asserted, or else the city risks a widening digital - and by extension - economic divide, adding that one way of finding the funds to expand infrastructure could be by introducing a public subsidy.
"There needs to be an effort from the whole community," he said. "From the point of view of many Hong Kong citizens, this situation is not adequate."


Lack of broadband regulation is 'threat to Hong Kong's status as a world city'

The Office of the Communications Authority has reported more than 900 complaints about the quality of internet services in Hong Kong since 2011, out of which only four were upheld. Photo: AFP

Critics blast broadband providers in Hong Kong for only putting high-speed fibre-optic cables in densely-packed areas.  Photo: SCMP Pictures

Hong Kong's 'digital divide' forcing many to turn their back on laidback Lamma

Lamma's charms begin to pall when you can't get online. Photo: Christopher DeWolf

Lawmaker Charles Mok warns of digital inequality in Hong Kong. Photo: David Wong

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