Hong Kong, 21 July 2016 - 3 Hong Kong, the mobile division of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Limited (HTHKH; stock code: 215), has announced that any local mobile user can now utilise three 30-minute WiFi sessions per day free of charge starting today at locations offering smooth and stable “3HK Wi-Fi (Free)”. Also announced today was launch of monthly “3LikeHome” plans and roaming passes, enabling customers to use mobile telecoms service in Macau and six European countries – just as if they were in Hong Kong.

90 minutes’ free WiFi service per day available to all citizens during promotional period
Starting today and running until 30 September, any mobile user in Hong Kong can access WiFi service for three sessions to a total of 90 minutes a day using a smartphone, tablet or laptop at more than 20,000 “3HK Wi-Fi (Free)” WiFi hotspots. The move is designed to celebrate the number of 3 Hong Kong’s hotspots exceeding 20,000.

3 Hong Kong’s 4G LTE tariff plans for consumers already include unlimited WiFi service, by which customer devices are automatically logged into “3HKWi-Fi” service at locations covered by 3 Hong Kong’s WiFi network, as part of a hassle-free wireless experience.

Number of WiFi hotspots expected to reach 23,000 by end of 2016
HTHKH Chief Operating Officer Jennifer Tan said: “3 Hong Kong has been developing mobile and WiFi services by continuously increasing network coverage and capacity. Most WiFi hotspots are served by a 1G optical-fibre backhaul facility, and connectivity between all 3 Hong Kong cell sites and optical-fibre leased lines from HGC has been upgraded to 1Gbps to accommodate today’s 4G LTE network and future mobile telecoms development. Customers are therefore able to enjoy a stable, reliable and high-speed telecoms experience.”

She added: “As Hong Kong’s largest1 WiFi service provider, we are delighted to make the unprecedented move of offering 90 minutes’ free WiFi service per day to all local mobile users, irrespective of their service provider. We want Hong Kong’s many users to experience our smooth and ultra-fast ‘3HK Wi-Fi (Free)’ WiFi network. In fact, we will build 3,000 more WiFi hotspots in the second half of this year, bringing the total number to more than 23,000.”

3 Hong Kong now offers WiFi service at more than 20,000 hotspots throughout Hong Kong. Most are served by a 1G optical-fibre backhaul network to ensure smooth and stable Internet access and can be found in large shopping arcades, retail and betting shops, commercial buildings, book stores and hospitals. Recent expansion of WiFi coverage has been evident in various parts of Hong Kong and is expected to include most LINK shopping malls by mid-2017.

“3LikeHome” roaming plans demonstrate 3 brand’s global strength
3 Hong Kong is committed to serving customers with a high-quality roaming experience. Monthly “3Like Home” plans and two types of roaming pass tailored to the needs of frequent leisure and business travelers traversing Macau and Europe will be launched by 3 Hong Kong soon.

Monthly “3LikeHome” plans will offer equal local and roaming data usage entitlements, plus a quota of voice minutes to be shared between local use and when roaming. Devices will be automatically connected to 3 Group networks when in Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Sweden and the UK, as well as Macau. Such voice usage entitlements allow customers to make calls to numbers in the locality where they are present, and Hong Kong, or receive calls from any region without incurring additional charges. The roaming data element of usage allows customers making frequent business trips to access the Internet in Macau and the six designated European countries without hassle – just as if they were in Hong Kong.

In order to meet demand at this busy travel time of the year, 3 Hong Kong will launch one-off roaming plans including a three-day “3 Macau Roaming Pass” and 10-day “3 Europe Roaming Pass”. These will provide free-to-use voice and data entitlements in Macau and six European countries for families and frequent leisure travelers (please see attached table).

900MHz spectrum now refarmed and TDD-LTE service launches in October
3 Hong Kong refarmed the 900MHz spectrum in the end of June to provide LTE 900 service, with the effect of comprehensively enhancing 4G LTE network coverage. The highly-penetrative nature of the 900MHz spectrum enhances indoor 4G LTE reception. Meanwhile, carrier aggregation enhancement plans are on the drawing-board with a view to providing an even faster data service. Furthermore, 3 Hong Kong will launch a TDD-LTE service in October to support multi-mode mobile devices while serving 4G LTE customers with massive bandwidth, making for an even more stable and smoother mobile communications experience.

Yet more 3 Hong Kong improvement plans include construction of small cells in the second half of this year to cope with rising levels of network traffic and further enhancement of the end-to-end hotspot user experience. Small cells are relatively easy to install and address inevitable signal reception issues arising in densely-populated and heavy-traffic areas.

For more information on “3HK Wi-Fi (Free)” WiFi hotspots, please go to www.three.com.hk/3HKWiFi-free-eng

Note: ¹Based on a review of the number of hotspots featured by the websites of six WiFi service providers in Hong Kong at midnight, 21 July 2016. Each WiFi service location provides one or more WiFi hotspots.

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About 3 Hong Kong
3 Hong Kong is a leading mobile communications service provider and the only local operator to own blocks of spectrum across the 900MHz, 1800MHz, 2100MHz, 2300MHz and 2600MHz bands. 3 Hong Kong offers cutting-edge data, voice and roaming services under the “3” brand via far-reaching advanced 4G LTE, 3G and 2G networks. 3 Hong Kong also works with renowned partners to offer a wealth of innovative mobile devices and value-added services, while providing high-speed Wi-Fi at “3HKWiFiService” hotspots to serve Hong Kong’s major areas. 3 Hong Kong is the mobile division of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings Limited (stock code: 215), a group member of CK Hutchison Holdings (stock code: 1).

For more information on 3 Hong Kong, please visit www.three.com.hk.
For more information on HTHKH, visit www.hthkh.com.