Starting in May 1999, Hongkong Telecom (HKT) plans to offer
multimedia satellite services to customers throughout the Asian region.
According to HKT, the new service will bring interactive multimedia to
desktop units and corporate networks even in countries without developed
cable infrastructures.
The new service will, through satellite broadcast, provide transfer of
streamed and packaged voice, data and video.
“Multinationals using Multimedia Satellite Service gain competitive edge
for point-to-multipoint data delivery in terms of bandwidth efficiency
because charges are based on usage without fixed recurring costs,” said
Joseph Ma, HKT’s director of international marketing.
“It is the economical solution many multinational corporations need to
enable easy diffusion of large volumes of data to their office located in
different parts of Asia,” added Ma.
The new service can be used for corporate intranets, high-speed Internet
access (up to 1,200 kbps), desktop distance learning, business television,
software update and distribution, video storage and retrieval, and
financial data and news distribution.
“As the service supports TCP/IP, it ill be compatible with bandwidth
intensive applications which are based on the protocol,” said Ma. “With the
scalability of satellite transponder bandwidth, the service can meet
customer needs today as well as tomorrow.”
The satellite service is part of HKT’s aNet program which is designed to
connect Hong Kong companies to global business. aNet is one four integrated
solutions being offered through HKT’s Com21 business-to-business
applications program.
HKT’s share price on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong rose significantly
last week because of speculation over whether the fixed network provider
would pursue a listing on NASDAQ for its Internet services arm, Interactive
Multimedia Services.