The 6th Global Mobile Broadband Forum opened the day before yesterday. According to Alex Arena, Executive Director of HKT, "HKT has achieved completely free voice services, and our charging model will rely entirely on data services."
Previously, there were five major telecommunications operators in Hong Kong, and HKT acquired CSL last year. Alex Arena stated that the telecommunications industry, like other industries, is evolving. The mobile phone penetration rate in Hong Kong has exceeded 200%, with an annual data growth rate of over 50%, and service sales are on the rise.
In fact, looking at the situation of foreign operators, with the rapid development of data services, there is no need for operators to maintain 2G networks that only provide voice services. Many foreign operators have chosen to shut down 2G networks, or even 3G networks.
With the popularity of smartphones and the shortening of call durations, free voice calls have become a trend. Wang Jianzhou, former Chairman of China Mobile, once stated: "Free calls are a trend, but China Mobile currently has to resist it."
Analysts point out that the peak period for voice communication for operators has become a thing of the past, but the base stations and capital investments originally built for voice services have their own life cycles. Operators need to make full use of these facilities; therefore, the launch of unlimited monthly voice services by foreign telecom operators can be seen as a way to fully utilize current equipment and solve current problems.
According to industry insiders, the three major operators may offer free calls in a few years, but it is difficult to achieve this in the next few years. Hong Kong has already formed good data consumption habits, while the mainland is still in the cultivation and initial growth stage.