The Commerce, Industry & Technology Bureau has issued a consultation paper on the proposed reduction of licence fees for fixed carrier licences operating external telecommunications services.

The paper proposes to cut the annual licence fee by half, from $1 million to $500,000.

The administration of such licences has been substantially simplified after the initial period of liberalisation of the market in early 2000.

The Government therefore proposes to reduce the annual licence fee for fixed carrier licences. It can benefit over 20 operators which run external services by cable or satellite in Hong Kong.

The proposed reduction will help maintain Hong Kong's competitiveness as an Asian telecommunications hub.

To effect the proposed reduction, the Government needs to amend the Telecommunications (Carrier Licences) Regulation, which prescribes the fee for the fixed carrier licences payable to the Office of the Telecommunications Authority.

To amend the regulation, the Government is required to consult the public for at least 21 days.

Copies of the consultation paper are now available at the bureau's and the authority's offices, or you can download it from their websites.