HK praised for creativity and technological sophistication

July 16, 1998

Hong Kong should strive to develop innovative business applications on its excellent telecommunications platform if it is to maintain its competitive edge in the global market.

To achieve this, the Government, business and industry, academia and IT professionals must work closely together to meet the challenges of the Information Age, said the Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting, Mr Kwong Ki-chi.

Addressing the launching of the CNN news on PowerPhone in Hong Kong today (Thursday), Mr Kwong said this innovative public telephone service was made possible through the opening up of the local fixed telecommunication market three years ago.

He said: "The interactive touch screens of these public telephones provide not just a ready means for the dissemination of multimedia information to the customer, but also facilities for electronic transactions, such as e-mail and faxes for those on the move.

"It should be evident to those who have used these phones that the potential for their expansion into other electronic business is enormous."

Mr Kwong said the success of the new service was a testimony to both the creativity and the technological sophistication of Hong Kong people as the technology behind PowerPhone was essentially a local development.

Also, he added, the joint licensing arrangement with an international news agency to provide up-to-date information on what is happening around the globe is "a clear demonstration that we are an integral part of the global village".

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