Keynote Speech by Mr. Victor Lam, JP, Government Chief Information Officer, at the “HKT 5G Tech Carnival” (with photos)
Susanna (Ms. Susanna Hui, Group Managing Director, HKT Limited), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. It is my great pleasure to join you all at the “HKT 5G Tech Carnival”. Showcasing the upcoming applications and developments of 5G, this carnival provides an excellent opportunity for experts and professionals in the industry as well as the general public to exchange ideas and explore the unlimited potential and possibilities of 5G.
The Government is fully aware of the importance of 5G and its role in facilitating smart city development in Hong Kong. Apart from the assignment of the spectrum in 26 GHz and 28 GHz bands to three mobile network operators in March, the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) will soon commence auctions of the spectrum in the 3.3 GHz, 3.5 GHz and 4.9 GHz bands in the latter half of this year to prepare for the commercial launch of 5G services and applications in 2020.
Meanwhile, the Government is implementing the Smart Lampposts pilot scheme which has provision made for the installation of 5G base stations by mobile network operators. This would complement the future infrastructure development of 5G services in Hong Kong. We will install about 400 smart lampposts equipped with sensors and other electronic devices at selected urban locations to collect various real-time city data with the aim of enhancing city and traffic management. The first batch of some 50 smart lampposts in Kwun Tong / Kai Tak Development Area will soon come into operation later this month. We are already in touch with interested mobile network operators to explore the allocation arrangement of these smart lampposts for possible 5G installation.
Connectivity aside, the Government is also implementing various smart city initiatives as set out in the Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong (the Blueprint). For example, regarding Smart Mobility, the Transport Department is installing over 1 200 traffic detectors along all strategic roads to monitor the traffic conditions so as to enhance its capability in handling traffic incidents as well as traffic management. Through these traffic detectors, the department will also be able to disseminate real time traffic information to the public through its mobile app and upload data to the one-stop Open Data Portal (data.gov.hk) for free access by the public to facilitate the development of innovative applications.
Another Smart Mobility initiative under the Blueprint is the installation of In-Vehicle Units (IVUs) which are tiny devices that could be installed in vehicles for storing and transmitting the identity and other information of the vehicles. IVUs will be an integral part of our future intelligent transport. They will enable motorists to pay tunnel tolls without stopping the vehicles and pay parking fees at car parks. IVUs’ application may also be extended to electronic vehicle licence, facilitating traffic management and supporting V2X (vehicle to everything) applications. The Transport Department will install an automatic tolling system without toll booths for the new Tseung Kwan O – Lam Tin Tunnel and start issuing IVUs to vehicle owners from the third quarter of 2020 onwards.
On digital payment, I believe most of you are already enjoying the convenience of the Faster Payment System (FPS), launched by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority last September. The Government will extend the use of FPS to provide the public with greater convenience in paying taxes, rates and water charges, and explore app-to-app mobile payment using FPS.
As for Smart Living, the Government will provide all Hong Kong citizens with a free electronic identity (eID) by mid-2020, enabling them to use a single digital identity to conduct government and commercial transactions online. It is planned that eID can be used upon its launch in mid-2020 in 26 popular e-Government services. By mid-2021, we expect that over 110 e-Government services would use eID.
To promote the adoption of innovation and technology in the Government, we introduced a pro-innovation government procurement policy in April this year to provide a more enabling environment to encourage government departments to adopt innovative technologies. Under the new policy, more emphasis is put on the technical aspect rather than on price. A certain percentage of technical marks will also be set aside for assessing innovative suggestions, so that tender proposals with innovative elements will stand a better chance of success. As one of the two innovation facilitators of the new procurement policy, our office has just set up the Smart Government Innovation Lab last month. All of you are welcome to put forward proposals on innovative solutions and product suggestions for improving our public services. Proof-of-concept trials and technology testing will be conducted in collaboration with government departments for suitable IT solutions which address their business needs, thereby allowing government departments to formulate innovative measures more effectively to improve public services. At the same time, we envisage it will create more business opportunities for local tech start-ups and SMEs.
5G development will certainly give strong boost to all these smart city initiatives, spurring new innovative applications and bringing more benefits to both the industry and the community at large. I would like to thank HKT again for organising this carnival. I wish you all a fruitful and rewarding exchange and experience. Thank you.
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