HongKong lessons after Taiwan earthquake web woes

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "D.H. van der Woude" <dirkvanderwoude () gmail com>
Date: January 7, 2007 8:55:28 AM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: HongKong lessons after Taiwan earthquake web woes

I just got this mail from our FttH friend in HongKong.
Their press release, listing reasons why their customers
suffered less, may be of interest to some on this list.
Nr 1 on over provisioning of bandwidth is noteworthy.
As are the remarks on changes in the universal service
obligation.

And of course the bbAid offer to speed install 100 Mb
symmetric at customers of the incumbent that are still
down ;-)

----

Dear partners & friends,

In response to the recent outage of overseas telecommunications  
services in Hong Kong, HKBN had held a Press Conference today (7th  
January 2007) afternoon, where the Chairman Mr. Ricky WONG has  
explained the reason of HKBN's swift recovery, with further  
suggestions to the Government & OFTA on measures that could be taken,  
as well as the launch of new service "bbAid", serving to provide  
emergency broadband internet support to those that have lost internet  
access.

Attached please find the relevant Press Release for your reference,  
for further enquiries, please feel free to contact Ms. Peggy CHAN at  
3145 6068  or  fungyee () ctihk com.

Hong Kong Broadband Network Ltd


HKBN offers suggestions to the HKSAR Government on Internet
Outage and "bbAid" launched to support emergency broadband
needs for Hong Kong.

(Hong Kong, 7th January 2007) Due to the Earthquake in
Taiwan on 26 December 2006, Hong Kong's overseas
telecommunications services had been severely affected by
the damage of several submarine cables, hindering the
services provided by all Hong Kong's Internet Service
Providers. Hong Kong Broadband Network Ltd. ("HKBN"), with
rapid response from staff and business partners, was one of
the first service providers to restore overseas
telecommunications service by 11:42 am, 28th December,
2006. Within two days following the disruption, HKBN
customers were able to connect to overseas websites, with
access to applications such as MSN Messenger, ICQ & Yahoo
Messenger resumed.

HKBN's rapid restoration was due mainly to:

1) Rigorous design of the HKBN network ensured that there
are always 30% over-provisioning of bandwidth, equivalent
to a 1.3 times bandwidth capacity over the average
bandwidth utilization for customers. Although the recent
disruption has lowered HKBN's bandwidth provision, this
over-provisioning design had come into force thereby
minimizing the impact to customers.

2) HKBN staff responded immediately, acquiring extra
bandwidth from a variety of International
Telecommunications Service Providers, and re-routing
telecommunication traffic to alternative routes. Whilst
HKBN customers were able to resume their essential Internet
services within two days, the majority of Hong Kong
Internet users are still negatively impacted, even until
today. This highlights the deficiency in the industry's
existing telecommunication services' arrangements &
contingency planning.

HKBN would like to offer the following suggestions:

1) Re-formulate bandwidth arrangements to form a network
alliance whereby in times of crisis when Hong Kong's
Internet & overseas telecommunication services are
affected, bandwidths of all ISPs should be centralized and
distributed to all users, ensuring availability of services
to all. OFTA should assume the central regulatory role in
crisis impact analysis and execute the technical
arrangements between all ISPs.

2) Under the existing Telecom Legislature, the dominant
fixed telecom network service operator must perform a
Universal Service Obligation, providing comprehensive
network coverage in Hong Kong, ensuring the basic
telecommunication needs of everyone are met. However, this
is currently limited to basic voice service only. As
Internet is now an essential part of our daily lives,
broadband service has already become a necessity to
consumers. Hence, HKBN suggests extending the application
of the Universal Service Obligation to include broadband
Internet access as well as overseas telecommunications.

Appreciating the importance of communications, HKBN
announced the launch of "bbAid" to those who are still
suffering from overseas bandwidth outage, providing
immediate broadband service aid. Effective from 8th January
2007, PCCW Netvigator's broadband customers can register at
hotline 3498 3498, where HKBN will install bb100 service
(symmetric 100Mbps access) within 24 hours, with up to 200
installations daily. The "bbAid" is offered to provide
immediate outbound communication services to those with
urgent needs, with no contract commitment and installation
fee required, and services charge being HK$10/day (minimal
charge is HK$20). Should no contract renewal or
cancellation notice be received from customer within 30
days after installation, such service will be terminated
automatically after the said period. Chairman of HKBN,
Ricky Wong said, "As one of the major ISPs in Hong Kong,
the Group will continue to strive with best efforts,
contributing to enhancing Hong Kong's leading position as
Asia's telecommunications hub. Our outstanding performance
in this incident is a result of our dedication to continue
improving our service quality, advancing towards becoming
Hong Kong's leading ISP. As the pioneer of Hong Kong's
telecommunication services, valuing the criticality of
overseas telecommunications, we hope the new measures would
serve to relief the stress and inconvenience for consumers
that are suffering from outage of international bandwidth."

- End-
Established in 1992, City Telecom (H.K.) Limited (SEHK :
1137, NASDAQ : CTEL) provides integrated telecommunications
services in Hong Kong. City Telecom's wholly-owned
subsidiary, Hong Kong Broadband Network Limited (HKBN), is
in the process of expanding its Metro Ethernet from 1.3 mn
to 1.8 mn homes pass, reaching 80% of Hong Kong's total
population. HKBN has achieved an aggregate Voice,
Broadband (symmetric 1000Mbps, 100Mbps,25Mbps and 10Mbps),
IP-TV and Corporate data service base in excess of
1,300,000 subscriptions. Additional information on City
Telecom can be found at www.ctigroup.com.hk

For enquiries, please contact : Corporate Communications
Jessie CHENG Tel: (852) 3145 4118 Fax: (852) 2199 8372
Email:chengcm () ctihk com



--
Each day, one day is added to our past, and thus one
day subtracted from our future. That is why the future
ought to be simpler than the past. Why is it then, that
we always wrestle with the future?

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