Speech by Mr. Stephen Mak Deputy Government Chief Information Officer at the Kick-off Ceremony of the 1st Hong Kong Wireless Technology Excellence Awards
14 - 4 - 2005

Distinguished Guests, Dear Friends from the Media, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am most delighted to be here today at the Kick-off Ceremony of the 1st Hong Kong Wireless Technology Excellence Awards jointly organized by the Hong Kong Wireless Technology Industry Association and the Hong Kong Productivity Council.

Today Hong Kong has one of the highest mobile phone penetration rates in the world. While wireless technology is widely used in voice communications, its application in data and corporate services still needs further promotion. With the emergence of 3G telecommunication services and more powerful mobile devices, the opportunities for wireless and mobile applications are expanding dramatically.

One of the key elements in the next wave of our e-government programme is channel management strategy. Our aim is to encourage the public to migrate to the most efficient and cost-effective channels of service delivery. Wireless technologies and services certainly offer one of the highly convenient and effective channels of service delivery. It enables the Government to deliver more timely and accessible public information and services to the community.

Using mobile devices, the public can now access information on weather forecasts, air pollution index, road traffic conditions today. With the further development of m-government, we will make more active use of wireless technologies and services to provide public services for the benefit of the community and the Government, which in turn help to drive the e-government programme.

The Government is also committed to promoting the wireless technologies and services, which has been endorsed as one of the focus areas for technological development in the Digital 21 Strategy. As early as end 2003, a task force was set up to promote wireless technology and services in the Government and enterprises. That task force completed its work around the end of last year. To sustain the momentum and to advance to the stages of adoption and innovation in applications, a new task force comprising representatives from the industry, academia and the Government was established earlier this year. The new task force aims to identify matters of common interest among various sectors and resolve issues relating to wireless and mobile services and technology. An action programme of the task force is being formulated for 2005-06.

As part of our initiatives to promote the adoption and development of 3G services in Hong Kong, the Government has supported the "3G Cyberport Project". The Project aims at promoting the development of 3G applications and content, and encouraging the local IT professionals to produce more innovative 3G solutions.

In addition to recognizing and paying tribute to the contestants, the Hong Kong Wireless Technology Excellence Awards also provides an excellent opportunity for us to exchange ideas and learn from each other. By bringing forth new perspectives and showing our innovations and technologies, the Awards will help to promote the further development and application of wireless technologies and services in Hong Kong. I wish the Awards every success.

Thank you.

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