Major high tech companies such as IBM have expressed an interest in relocating to the Cyberport. With its broadband infrastructure connected directly to the Net's high-capacity international backbone, the Cyberport will be an attractive, if expensive, center for running servers to support electronic services. The problem is the first offices will be completed in late 2001, and Hong Kong's competition is not hanging around waiting for it to catch up. TOP Telecommunications Facilities Hong Kong is a leader in telecommunications with a strong market infrastructure. With 56 lines per 100 people, Hong Kong has the highest teledensity in Asia, except for Japan.
All exchanges are digital.
More than 3.5m people have mobile phones, one of the highest densities in the world. The volume of international calls dropped slightly in 1998, possibly reflecting increased use of e-mail. The Hong Kong government's tradition of licensing technology is hindering the development of digital media. The four companies to have received cable licences have been prevented from offering cable modem services in order to protect the interests of the other fixed line license holders. They have not been required to purchase a new license for each service they offer, but they don't have have competitive access to broadband services, which Hong Kong Telephone reserves to its IMS subsidiary.