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Virgin Expresses Interest in Hong Kong 3G Network
British conglomerate Virgin Group has said it is interested in becoming actively involved in Hong Kong's third generation (3G) mobile network, encouraged by the government's announcement of allocating procedures on Tuesday.
The Hong Kong iMail quoted the charismatic chairman of Virgin, Sir Richard Branson, as saying that he welcomed the procedures and had received several inquiries from Hong Kong carriers concerning whether Virgin would be interested in participating in the 3G networks.
Branson said that after the announcement of a US$1 billion (7.79 billion Hong Kong dollars) joint venture with SingTel (Singapore Telecom) to form Virgin Mobile (Asia) in May, "we have received a number of serious inquiries from carriers in Hong Kong looking to carry us on their networks."
He added that the commitment of the Hong Kong Telecommunications Authority to "see operators like us involved in the delivery of services" had prompted Virgin to "further appreciate the importance of Hong Kong as key consumer of mobile telecom services."
The government said on Tuesday that the open network requirement would require successful 3G bidders to open up part of their 3G network capacity, around 30-50 percent, to other service providers, a move designed to increase competition at the content and service level.
The move will also allow mobile virtual network operators (MVNO) to operate, an area likely to be of most interest to Virgin.
On commencing operations, expected to be in the first half of next year, Virgin Mobile will function as a regional MVNO, purchasing cellular airtime on a wholesale basis from leading cellular providers in each country.
Andrew Craissati, regional chairman and chief executive officer of Virgin (Asia) Management noted that it was unusual for a regulatory body to acknowledge the importance of MVNO's, adding that it was "encouraging" the regulators saw groups like Virgin "as key to the future of 3G landscape."
The government aims to finalise the licensing framework for the 3G services by the end of this year or early in 2001 and issue licences next year.
The 3G services, which will allow high speed access to data through mobile communications, including Internet access, are expected to drive huge growth in mobile communications. Auctions of 3G licences in Europe have generated huge revenues for governments. (Source: chinadaily.com.cn)
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