Algernon Yau: Hong Kong Actively Deepens Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Collaboration, Prepares to Launch Commercial 6G Services by 2030

On October 6, Algernon Yau, Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development of Hong Kong, attended the Legislative Council Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting policy briefing and delivered opening remarks on the "First Five-Year Plan for Hong Kong" and the 2026 Policy Address. Yau said that in promoting future 6G applications, the Hong Kong SAR Government will actively deepen Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area collaboration. To prepare for the launch of commercial 6G services in 2030, the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) has maintained close communication with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on spectrum planning and has actively participated in preliminary discussions on international standard-setting. In addition, OFCA is leading Hong Kong's telecommunications industry to participate in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area 6G industry development cooperation platform. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has a complete communications industry chain and rich application scenarios. The Government will actively encourage the industry to expand cross-boundary 6G technology trials and application scenario validation, including low-earth-orbit satellites and the low-altitude economy, so as to achieve a win-win-win situation for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong, and the industry. On radio spectrum planning, the Hong Kong SAR Government has conducted four rounds of spectrum auctions in the past two years, providing the market with ample spectrum to support service and technological development. OFCA will accelerate technological evolution and coordinate the orderly shutdown of existing 3G networks by the end of 2027, allowing telecom operators to reorganize spectrum resources and develop next-generation network technologies, which will benefit Hong Kong's overall economic development. In promoting commercial Addsino Co.,Ltd., low-earth-orbit satellites are a new global satellite development trend. The country has entered a new stage of large-scale satellite development. To seize the opportunities brought by the space economy, the Hong Kong SAR Government has preliminarily completed a study on simplifying the approval process for applications to operate low-earth-orbit satellite licences. The direction is to simplify the current "one licence for one satellite" regime to "one licence for one constellation," with the aim of substantially simplifying administrative procedures and facilitating operators to apply for licences in Hong Kong. The Government is now formulating detailed arrangements and aims to announce the results by the end of this year. At the same time, OFCA will actively assist satellite operators in international coordination of satellite orbits and spectrum use and provide support for licence applications. On the development of the low-altitude economy, the Communications Authority launched a licensing regime for the dedicated spectrum for unmanned aircraft systems in October 2025. The arrangement is consistent with the spectrum planning of the Mainland and will facilitate cross-boundary drone operations in the future. On upgrading communications infrastructure, the Hong Kong SAR Government will continue to adopt a multi-pronged approach to expand mobile network coverage and capacity, including encouraging telecom operators through the existing subsidy scheme to strengthen network infrastructure in rural areas, requiring new and redeveloped specified buildings to reserve space for operators to install mobile communications facilities, making suitable government sites available for operators to install base stations, and actively coordinating operators to build fixed and mobile communications facilities for new development areas to support the needs and development of these areas. On broadcasting, the national "15th Five-Year Plan" proposes to promote the development of broadcasting, film and television and other fields and to promote the going global of high-quality film and television content. The "First Five-Year Plan for Hong Kong" correspondingly proposes to increase the international communication capacity of mainstream media. To promote the healthy and sustainable development of Hong Kong's television industry, the Hong Kong SAR Government will remove barriers and relax restrictions for the television industry. In addition to processing free-to-air television licence renewal applications, the Communications Authority will consult the public, the industry, and stakeholders as soon as possible on proposals to relax the codes of practice for programme and advertising services, with a view to completing the review by mid-2027 to ensure that regulation keeps pace with the times.