| Demographics and culture of Hong Kong |
|---|
| Demographics |
| Culture |
| Other Hong Kong topics |
Communications in Hong Kong includes a wide-ranging and sophisticated network of radio, television, telephone, Internet, and related online services, reflecting Hong Kong's thriving commerce and international importance.
There are some 60online newspapers (in various languages, but mostly inTraditional Chinese) and the numbers of online periodicals run into the hundreds. The territory is in addition theEast andSoutheast Asian headquarters for most of the major international communications and media services.
Broadcast media and news is provided by several television and radio companies, one of which isgovernment-run. Television provides the major source of news and entertainment for the average family. Chinese television programs are produced for both local and overseas markets.
Hong Kong also ranks as an important centre of publishing and printing: numerous books are published yearly for local consumption, several leading foreign publishers have their regional offices in Hong Kong, and many international magazines are printed in the territory.
This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(October 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
There are a total of nine terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, owned by three television networks, one of which is a public broadcaster.
Hong Kong's terrestrial commercial TV networks can also be seen inMacau, via cable.
This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(October 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Television Broadcasts Limited operatesTVB Jade,TVB Pearl,TVB Plus (formerly two separate channels, TVB J2 andJ5), andTVB News, of which Jade and Pearl are available on analogue frequencies. TVB is the city's first commercial terrestrial television network (Asia Television (ATV) began as a subscription television network), and is the city's predominant TV network.
HK Television Entertainment operatesViuTV, which is a Cantonese general entertainment channel. The network is mandated by its service license to launch a 17-hourEnglish television channel on or before 31 March 2017.[1] The English channel named "ViuTVsix" officially launched on March 31, 2017 (local time).
ViuTV does not broadcast on analogue frequencies.
This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(October 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Public broadcasterRTHK operates three digital channels, two of which have been simulcast on analogue frequencies formerly used by ATV since April 2, 2016.
This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(October 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Paid cable and satellite television have also been widespread, withCable TV Hong Kong,Now TV,TVB Network Vision andHKBN bbTV being the more prominent providers.
The production of Hong Kong's soap drama, comedy series and variety shows have reached mass audiences throughout the Chinese-speaking world. Many international and pan-Asian broadcasters are based in Hong Kong, includingNews Corporation'sSTAR TV.
The Hong Kong telecommunication industry was deregulated in 1995. There are no foreign ownership restrictions. The Office of Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) is the legislative body responsible for regulating the telecommunications industry. Competition in this sector is fierce. Since 2008, one can get 10 Mbit/s up and down unlimitedVDSL, telephone line rental, unlimited local calls, and 100 minutes of international calls for US$25/month. Telephone line rental and unlimited local calls is only US$3/month.
As of July 2017[update], the penetration rate inHong Kong was estimated at 240.8% over a population estimate of over 7.325 million.[2][3][4] Hong Kong's telecom regulator is theOffice of the Communications Authority (OFCA).
| Rank | Operator | Technology | Subscribers (in millions) | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HKT (including csl, 1O1O and Club SIM) | GSM-900/1800 (GPRS,EDGE) | 4.324[5] (Dec 2018) | PCCW Limited (Pacific Century Group 28.97%,China Unicom 19.9%) |
| 2 | 3 Hong Kong | GSM-900/1800 (GPRS,EDGE) 900 MHzUMTS,HSPA+,DC-HSPA+900/1800/2100/2600(B7)/2300(B40) MHzLTE-A | 3.276[6] (Dec 2018) | Hutchison Telecom |
| 3 (?) | CMHK (China Mobile Hong Kong) | GSM-1800 (GPRS,EDGE) 2100 MHzUMTS,HSPA+,DC-HSPA+900/1800/2100/2600(B7)/2300(B40) MHzLTE-A | 5[7] (Jun 2021) | China Mobile |
| 4 | SmarTone | GSM-900/1800 (GPRS) 850/2100 MHzUMTS,HSPA+,DC-HSPA+900/1800/2100/2600(B7) MHzLTE-A | 2.47[8] (Dec 2018) | Sun Hung Kai Properties |
| 5 | CUniq HK (China Unicom Hong Kong) | Using 3 Hong Kong | 0.87[9](Oct 2018) | China Unicom |
| 6 | Hong Kong Broadband Network | Using CMHK and SmarTone | 0.277[10](Oct 2019) | HKBN Ltd. |
| 7 | SUN Mobile | Using CSL Mobile | N/A | HKT (60%), Telecom Digital (40%) |
| 8 | Birdie Mobile | Using SmarTone | N/A | SmarTone Mobile Communications Limited[11] |
| 9 | CTExcelArchived 8 December 2021 at theWayback Machine | N/A | China Telecom |
As of April 2006,HKBN offers its customers Internet access with speeds starting from 10 Mbit/s up to 1000 Mbit/s (1 Gbit/s) viaFiber to the building andFiber to the Home. However the speed to non-Hong Kong destinations is capped to 20 Mbit/s.As of November 2009, the company was offering 100 Mbit/s service for HK$99 (about $13 US) per month.[needs update]
Major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) include:[needs update]
Hong Kong law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the government generally respects these rights in practice. Although freedom of expression is protected by theHong Kong Bill of Rights, theHong Kong national security law gives the government the power to "take down any electronic messages published" that the government considers endangering national security.[17][18] No government licenses are required to operate a website. Democratic activists claim central government authorities closely monitor their e-mails and Internet use.[19]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from"Hong Kong".The World Factbook (2025 ed.).CIA. Retrieved3 July 2012. (Archived 2012 edition.)
香港電視娛樂會在二零一七年三月三十一日或之前開設一條英語頻道,每日廣播合共17小時 (HK Television Entertainment will open an English language television channel on or before 31 March 2017. The channel will air programmes for 17 hours per day.)