Opening Speech by Mr. Howard Dickson, Government Chief Information Officer, at the "3G on the Move" Conference and Exhibition
28 - 10 - 2005

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning! I am pleased to open this "3G on the Move" Conference and Exhibition. This event brings together ICT industry experts in wireless and mobile computing and Government e-business leaders. The agenda for today promises to share knowledge and stimulate discussions among the audience on a wide range of important issues.

New technologies are changing the way we live. Mobile technology, in particular, would have the most impact on us. With the advent of mobile technology, we can now talk and see each other anywhere and anytime through our mobile phones. We can do banking transactions, watch TV, play games, and chat with a group of friends on mobile devices. Mobile technology is also changing the way we work. Perhaps we may not want to, we can be connected to our office anywhere and anytime. There is no limitation on where and when we perform our work. For example we recently discussed the book ‘Smart Mobs?in our book club, it describes a whole new paradigm of users and environments in which mobile services and technology are changing our lives.

With the introduction of 3G mobile services, the increased communication capacity provides even more opportunities for developing more new mobile applications. Mobile operators, device manufacturers and application developers over the world are working closely together to develop mobile applications like mobile entertainment, location tracking, banking, betting and Internet access. Some have even predicted that the future will be a mobile world, and we would perform nearly all our daily activities through the mobile channel. Recent statistics show that close to 160 3G operators in more than 70 economies are providing 3G services to over 203 million subscribers. It is also predicted that the 3G mobile subscriber population worldwide would grow to 642 million by 2010.

Hong Kong has a world-class telecommunications infrastructure, with a mobile subscriber rate of over 120%. The people of Hong Kong are receptive to new technologies and are keen to try them. We have introduced 3G service since early 2004. We are among the first few in the region to introduce this technology. Now, all 4 mobile operators in Hong Kong have already launched their 3G services, and as of July this year, the number of 3G subscribers exceeded four hundred and fifty thousand and it is estimated that the number will reach half a million by the end of 2005. This is close to double the figure last year.

All along, the Government has been promoting and facilitating the development of wireless and mobile services and technology (WMST) in Hong Kong. Following the work of a task force established to promote awareness on WMST, we set up a new task force on Facilitating the Adoption of WMST in March this year with representatives from the industry, academia and the Government. The major goal of the Task Force is to facilitate the wider adoption of WMST in the Government, businesses and the community. The Task Force has looked into the issues affecting the adoption of WMST, including infrastructure support, application availability, security considerations, etc, and is currently working out an Action Programme to help drive the adoption of WMST in Hong Kong.

The Government has been working closely with the ICT industry on different initiatives to promote the adoption of WMST. The "3G Cyberport" Project is one of them. This project is sponsored by the Government and implemented by the Hong Kong Wireless Technology Industry Association (WTIA) and the Hong Kong Wireless and Development Centre (HKWDC). This project aims to provide a community environment at the Cyberport to facilitate the development of 3G applications and the exploration of new 3G business models. Today, you will have the chance to see some of the 3G products and services developed under this project and to exchange views with the project developers. Through the product demonstration and views exchange, it may help stimulate your thoughts on potential applications of 3G and WMST in your own organization.

All indications are that mobile world is fast becoming a reality. To make sure that we get maximum utility and benefits from this transition and convergence of technologies, the Government, academia, mobile operators, IT vendors, and application developers need to jointly work together to create synergy. I hope that the event today will facilitate idea and experience exchanges among all these parties, and as a result of these exchanges, generate more co-operation and collaboration opportunities in the community and ICT industry in Hong Kong.

Before I close, I would like to thank the HKWDC for co-organizing this event. I hope you would enjoy the rest of the progamme today.

Get ready now ! We are on the move ! Thank you.

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