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Tag: Greater Bay Area

  • Hong Kong Fast-Tracks 6G Network Strategy and Satellite Licensing Rules

    Hong Kong Fast-Tracks 6G Network Strategy and Satellite Licensing Rules

    Hong Kong’s Communications Authority backed regulatory reforms on Sept. 16, 2026. The package covers regional 6G network deployment, fast-track satellite licensing, and revisions to commercial television codes under the city’s 2026-2030 economic blueprint.

    These changes tie the territory’s telecommunications roadmap directly to China’s National 15th Five-Year Plan and the Chief Executive’s 2026 Policy Address.

    Aligning Greater Bay Area Communications Infrastructure

    Officials will speed up cross-border infrastructure upgrades across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area for 6G networks. Spectrum planning, core transmission links, and next-generation mobile protocols will align with mainland network authorities. This prevents technical divergence across regional boundaries.

    Communications Authority Chairman Jenkin Suen outlined the direction. “To proactively align with the National 15th Five-Year Plan in accelerating the development of next-generation information technology and fostering the growth of emerging and future industries, Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan has included the promotion of the development of 6G network in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the construction and upgrading of new communications infrastructure,” Suen stated.

    Streamlining Low-Earth Orbit Satellite Approvals

    Satellite communications face an immediate overhaul. The authority will simplify vetting for commercial low-Earth orbit constellations. The goal is faster processing times for operators seeking gateway or downlink rights in the city.

    Regulators will offer direct support to help satellite operators set up local operations. The policy targets transport logistics, maritime operations, and remote corridors where terrestrial base stations cost too much to build.

    Broadcast Code Reviews and Domestic Media Policy

    Traditional broadcasters face statutory reviews under the same package. The authority will open a public consultation on amendments to the Generic Codes of Practice for Television. The review takes aim at legacy limits on content, commercials, and operations.

    Local film and television producers face stiff competition from global streaming platforms. These adjustments aim to widen their distribution. Domestic studios can then expand their cross-border footprint without legacy rules designed for analog broadcast.

    Commercial Exposure and Cross-Border Network Risks

    Mobile operators and tech vendors in Hong Kong face heavy early capital spending for 6G coordination. Commercial revenue remains years away. Carriers must also run costly 5G enterprise networks while assigning spectrum engineers to regional synchronization.

    Constellation operators gain the fastest commercial advantage. Standardized vetting cuts months of delay for companies selling enterprise redundancy and logistics tracking across Pearl River Delta shipping lanes.

    Both initiatives arrived with the release of the First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030) alongside the Policy Address on Sept. 16, 2026. The simultaneous filings mark the first formal alignment between Hong Kong’s medium-term regulatory targets and Beijing’s national five-year planning cycle.

    Next, the Communications Authority will release its consultation paper on the Generic Codes of Practice for Television, spelling out which rules will go.

  • Beijing approves blueprint for ‘Greater Bay Area’

    Beijing approves blueprint for ‘Greater Bay Area’

    Chinese Vice-Premier Han Zheng, the point man on Hong Kong and Macau affairs, recently gave the green light to the official document on the “Greater Bay Area” following extensive consultations with local governments, a Beijing source said. “No party or agenda, including even environmental protection, will be left behind by this all-inclusive blueprint,” the official said.

    More than three years in the making, the Greater Bay Area was first mentioned in a development action plan jointly outlined by China’s top authorities on economic planning, commerce and foreign affairs to create a new economic growth engine by pooling together Hong Kong, Macau and nine neighbouring cities in Guangdong province.

    The mega zone covers 56,500 square kilometres, has a combined population of about 67.6 million and accounted for 12.5 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product in 2016.

    Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has taken part in discussions on the scheme since August last year, becoming the city’s first chief executive to join a leading group under China’s cabinet, the State Council.

    Authorities were now working on the implementation plan, Zhang said in an interview with state broadcaster CCTV which was aired on Saturday night.

    Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou and Shenzhen would be the central cities in the bay area, and each had their own unique positioning, he said.

    Hong Kong will be the international finance, navigation and trade centre, as well as a transport hub. It will have the role of pushing finance, trade, logistics and professional services towards the high-end market.

    Macau will be an international tourism city and a platform for trade with Portuguese-speaking countries. Guangzhou will take a leading role as a national central city while Shenzhen will take a leading role as a special economic region and an innovative city, he said.

    The planners hope the advantages these four cities enjoy can complement each other and offset the challenges brought by gaps in the legal and economic systems.

    The international network and mature market economy of Hong Kong and Macau could have big potential when combined with the vast hinterland and market Guangzhou enjoyed, he said.

    “Under the new circumstances, Hong Kong and Macau still have their unique position and advantages that cannot be replaced,” Zhang said.

    He revealed for the first time that there were almost 100,000 Hong Kong residents and nearly 20,000 Macau residents who had applied for a new identity card that would grant them access to a wide range of social and public services on the mainland. The arrangement was introduced on September 1 last year.

    There were high expectations that Beijing would reveal the blueprint when Premier Li Keqiang said in March last year there would be an announcement soon. But the central government has since been embroiled in a trade war with its biggest trading partner, the United States.

    Sources said that the tussles over political interests and dominance among the Greater Bay Area parties was a reason behind the delay and meant the central government had to step in to coordinate.

    “But the most important question here is whose model to follow and whether the tussle is about Hong Kong converting mainland cities or the other way around?” said an academic who has direct knowledge of the blueprint’s planning.

    “Mainland cities are hesitant to follow Hong Kong’s model in case they lose official powers.”

    An internal study by an official think tank seen by the Post said the crux of the Greater Bay Area integration was about putting “one country, two systems” into practice but differences in economic, tax, customs and legal systems that would ensure Hong Kong and Macau’s high degree autonomy have remained key challenges.

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