HONG KONG-Hong Kong plans to award four third-generation (3G) licenses by the middle of 2001 using a hybrid beauty contest and auction process.
Companies must go through a qualification process based on network rollout, investment and financial stability followed by an auction. License winners will be required to open 30 percent of their network to other non-affiliated companies to ensure competition, the government said.
The government said the process takes into account the recent decline in telecom favor within the financial community.
Hong Kong currently has six mobile carriers competing in one of the world’s most competitive markets with a mobile penetration rate of more than 75 percent.
