PCCW, NWT and HGC Enter Into Private Internet Peering Arrangement

Better Quality and Higher Speed Internet Access for Customers

PCCW Limited ("PCCW"), New World Telecommunications Limited ("NWT") and Hutchison Global Communications Limited ("HGC"), today joined forces in establishing private Internet peering arrangement. The new arrangement will provide high-speed and reliable Internet connections for customers.

This move, which is set to usher in a new epoch for Hong Kong's Internet industry, is in line with the global trend that the private sector should assume leadership in driving the growth and rationalising capacity utilisation on the Internet.

Private Internet peering arrangements are common in markets where Internet penetration rates are notably high, such as Japan, South Korea and United States. In Hong Kong, three telecommunications operators, namely PCCW, NWT and HGC believe that the private sector equipped with more resources will have capabilities to drive the growth of Hong Kong's Internet community, thereby enhancing Hong Kong's competitiveness as an Internet hub.

For the past decade, Hong Kong's Internet traffic exchange has been supported by a public traffic exchange centre. With the Internet now being utilised as a commercial network, contribution from industry players can drive development in this arena further. It is expected that the private Internet peering arrangements established among the three telecommunications operators will carry substantial Internet traffic load off the public Internet exchange in its first phase of the development.

PCCW, NWT and HGC are confident that this private Internet peering arrangement will bring significant benefits to customers. This private Internet peering arrangement will enable customers to enjoy fast and quality communications over the Internet with higher service level that private-sector entities are better positioned to ensure. This will also provide a springboard to induce the industry to develop bandwidth-hungry applications, spearheading the growth of Hong Kong's Internet industry.

In addition, private Internet peering arrangement will enhance traffic exchange performance, offer greater flexibility to Internet development and reduce operating costs for ISPs and carriers in the long run. Furthermore, this arrangement will provide multiple access to the Internet.

Marisa Kwok, Managing Director, Commercial Group of PCCW said, "This arrangement will bring immediate benefits to customers. This is a very forward-looking innovative initiative by the three parties and this arrangement will enable us to better serve end-customers, enterprises and telecom service providers with a superior quality and highly reliable Internet broadband service over a sophisticated IP managed network. Such service level is necessary as communications over the Internet is now multimedia and content rich rather than just text-based. With this private Internet peering arrangement, Hong Kong is now better positioned as the leading Internet hub of the region."

Albert Wong, Managing Director of NWT said, "With our concerted efforts, we are committed to offering a viable approach, which ensures a higher level of reliability and security to ISPs for their local and international transit. This collaboration will not only facilitate a more efficient utilisation of the Internet transit capacity, but also boost Hong Kong's profile as the Internet hub of the region."

Peter Wong, Chief Executive Officer of HGC said, "The formation of private Internet peering arrangement among Hong Kong's three leading carriers signifies a milestone in the development of the Internet industry. This private Internet peering is established with a view to further drive high-speed and value-added traffic over the Internet for public and private enterprises in Hong Kong as the Internet is now a common commercial network. The private sector with the right resources, expertise and experience will facilitate the growth of the industry to cope with surging demand for Internet traffic capacity. This arrangement will also enhance the performances of services provided to the broadband customers, Internet service providers, multi-national corporations and international carriers."