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HKT Limited (), also known as Hong Kong Telecom (), is one of the largest telecommunications companies in Hong Kong. It has a dominant position in
fixed-line A landline is a physical telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber from the subscriber's premises to the network, allowing multiple phones to operate simultaneously on the same phone number. It is also referred to as plain old ...
, mobile, IDD and broadband services in Hong Kong. HKT Group is a subsidiary of
PCCW PCCW Limited (formerly known as Pacific Century CyberWorks Limited) is a Hong Kong–based information and communication technology (ICT) and telecommunications company. The company is the major owner of telecommunications company HKT Limited, ...
since 2000, after it was acquired from
Cable & Wireless plc Cable & Wireless plc was a British telecommunications company. In the mid-1980s, it became the first company in the UK to offer an alternative telephone service to BT Group, British Telecom (via subsidiary Mercury Communications). The company l ...
. The company, along with HKT Trust (), is a pair of listed corporations on the
Hong Kong Stock Exchange The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (, SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. It is one of the largest stock exchanges in Asia and the List of major stock exchanges, 9th largest globally by market ...
, which the two corporations were bundled as one single stapled security.


Corporate identities

The former holding company of the group was Cable & Wireless HKT Limited (; former ticker symbol: 8). It was a subsidiary of
Cable & Wireless plc Cable & Wireless plc was a British telecommunications company. In the mid-1980s, it became the first company in the UK to offer an alternative telephone service to BT Group, British Telecom (via subsidiary Mercury Communications). The company l ...
. It was taken over and privatised by
PCCW PCCW Limited (formerly known as Pacific Century CyberWorks Limited) is a Hong Kong–based information and communication technology (ICT) and telecommunications company. The company is the major owner of telecommunications company HKT Limited, ...
in 2000. PCCW also started to use the ticker symbol "8" after the takeover. Cable & Wireless HKT Limited was formerly known as Hong Kong Telecommunications Limited (), which was incorporated in 1987; it was renamed to Cable & Wireless HKT Limited in 1999, but renamed again to PCCW-HKT Limited in 2000; PCCW-HKT still use the same registered Chinese name () until 2011, which in the same year the Chinese name became the registered Chinese name of HKT Limited instead.Data in Hong Kong Companies Registry PCCW-HKT had a major subsidiary PCCW-HKT Telephone Limited (), which was incorporated in 1925 under the name Hongkong Telephone Company, Limited; it was briefly known as Cable & Wireless HKT Telephone Limited () from 1999 to 2000. , PCCW-HKT as well as PCCW-HKT Telephone were still live, wholly owned subsidiaries of PCCW. However, the telephone services are now provided by HKT's wholly owned subsidiary, Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) Limited instead, after a group restructuring in 2008. In October 2011, PCCW shareholders approved a partial spin-off of the assets as HKT on the
Hong Kong stock exchange The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (, SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. It is one of the largest stock exchanges in Asia and the List of major stock exchanges, 9th largest globally by market ...
(but excluding the two legal persons PCCW-HKT and PCCW-HKT Telephone). HKT was successfully listed on 29 November 2011, as HKT Limited and HKT Trust. HKT Limited was incorporated in the
Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...
, while its direct parent entity, HKT Trust, was set up in Hong Kong under the laws of Hong Kong.


History

Domestic telecommunications facilities in Hong Kong became more advanced in 1925 when the Hong Kong Telephone Company Limited (HKTC) took over the interests of
John Pender Sir John Pender KCMG GCMG FSA FRSE (10 September 1816 – 7 July 1896) was a Scottish submarine communications cable pioneer and politician. Early life Pender was born in the Vale of Leven, Scotland, the son of James Pender and his wife, Mar ...
's China and Japan Telephone and Electric Company. The company's mandate included providing all the British colonies with local telephone services. Over the next six decades, Hong Kong Telephone's line capacity grew to more than 2.5 million, with the company serving approximately six million people.International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 30. St. James Press, 2000. Telecommunications became increasingly important following
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, and in 1929 the British companies Marconi Wireless and Eastern Telegraph joined to establish Cable & Wireless. The company's strategy was to supply telephone and telegraph services in Britain's colonies, and it succeeded in securing an exclusive franchise to provide international communications services in Hong Kong. By 1972, the company's biggest operation was its subsidiary in rapidly growing Hong Kong. Hong Kong Telephone, meanwhile, built a new headquarters in 1972. The company's growth was said to typify the colony's transition from an economy based on manufacturing to one dependent on service industries, which created a demand for telecommunications services. In 1975 Hong Kong Telephone's franchise for domestic service in the colony was extended for an additional 20 years, to expire just ahead of Hong Kong's reversion to China's control in 1997.


Chronology


Hong Kong Telephone Company

* 1906: China and Japan Telephone and Electric Company acquired a 25-year franchised licence on fixed-line. *1925: China and Japan Telephone and Electric Company was acquired by Hong Kong Telephone Company Limited (HKTC). The government also granted HKTC a 50 years franchised licence on telephone service. *1968: HKTC's franchise was extended for another 20 years. * 1983: HKTC started to build their own mobile radiotelephone service, which was supplied and installed by
NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...
; in the next year the service went public under HKTC's subsidiary Communication Services Limited


Cable and Wireless (Hong Kong)

*1871: The predecessor of Cable & Wireless established its Hong Kong branch, for its
submarine communications cable A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the seabed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables were laid beginning in the 1850s and car ...
s that connect from Hong Kong to
Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
,
Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...
,
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
, Labuan and
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
(or 1936 according to another source) * 1962: Cable & Wireless acquired a 25-year franchise for telephone and telegraph services *1981: The Hong Kong branch of
Cable & Wireless plc Cable & Wireless plc was a British telecommunications company. In the mid-1980s, it became the first company in the UK to offer an alternative telephone service to BT Group, British Telecom (via subsidiary Mercury Communications). The company l ...
was incorporated as Cable and Wireless (Hong Kong) Limited (later known as Hong Kong Telecom International; HKTI). Hong Kong government was a minority shareholder for 20%. * 1983: Cable and Wireless (Hong Kong) acquired 34.8% shares of HKTC from
Jardine Matheson Jardine Matheson Holdings Limited (also known as Jardines) is a Hong Kong–based, Bermuda-domiciled British multinational conglomerate. It has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and secondary listings on the Singapore Exchange ...
. *1986: Cable & Wireless also announced plans for an underwater optical fibre cable connecting Hong Kong with Japan and South Korea (a part of APCN), to become operational in 1990.


Hong Kong Telecommunications

* 1987: Cable & Wireless (Hong Kong) and Hong Kong Telephone Company merged to form a new telecommunications group, with the new holding company called Hong Kong Telecommunications Limited, replacing Hong Kong Telephone Company as a listed company on the stock exchange of Hong Kong and as one of the constituents of
Hang Seng Index The Hang Seng Index (HSI) is a market-Capitalization-weighted index, capitalisation-weighted stock market index in Hong Kong adjusted for free float. It tracks and records daily changes in the largest stock listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exch ...
(the blue-chip index of HK).
Government of Hong Kong The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the handover of Hong Kong. ...
owned around 5.5% shares of the new company immediately after the merger;
Cable & Wireless plc Cable & Wireless plc was a British telecommunications company. In the mid-1980s, it became the first company in the UK to offer an alternative telephone service to BT Group, British Telecom (via subsidiary Mercury Communications). The company l ...
remained as the largest shareholder. * 1990: Chinese government controlled CITIC Hong Kong acquired 20% shares of Hong Kong Telecommunications from former British state owned enterprise
Cable & Wireless plc Cable & Wireless plc was a British telecommunications company. In the mid-1980s, it became the first company in the UK to offer an alternative telephone service to BT Group, British Telecom (via subsidiary Mercury Communications). The company l ...
. * 1995: HKTC's franchise expired. HKTC was one of the 4 companies to receive the new licence in local
fixed-line A landline is a physical telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber from the subscriber's premises to the network, allowing multiple phones to operate simultaneously on the same phone number. It is also referred to as plain old ...
services * 1999: Hong Kong Telecommunications Limited was renamed to Cable & Wireless HKT; the subsidiaries, HKTC was renamed to Cable & Wireless HKT Telephone Limited; HKTI was renamed to Cable & Wireless HKT International. * 2000: Cable & Wireless HKT was acquired by
PCCW PCCW Limited (formerly known as Pacific Century CyberWorks Limited) is a Hong Kong–based information and communication technology (ICT) and telecommunications company. The company is the major owner of telecommunications company HKT Limited, ...
. Cable & Wireless HKT was renamed to PCCW-HKT Limited; the subsidiary HKTC was renamed to PCCW-HKT Telephone Limited; while HKTI was renamed to PCCW-HKT International * 2001: the subsidiary HKTI was renamed to Reach Networks Hong Kong, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Reach Limited instead, a joint venture of PCCW and Telstra; 60% stake of CSL was also sold to Telstra * 2002: the remaining stake of CSL, the only mobile network operator of the group, was sold to
Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets related products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 stock index, and is Australia's largest telecomm ...
* 2005: PCCW-HKT takeover Sunday Communications, relaunching its mobile network operator as
PCCW Mobile PCCW Mobile HK Limited previously known as Mandarin Communications Limited, was a subsidiary of PCCW (via Hong Kong Telecom, HKT) involving mobile network operator of 2G and 3G in Hong Kong. It was previously owned by a Caymans-incorporated Hon ...
* 2007: PCCW-HKT Telephone acquired the licence of
CDMA2000 CDMA2000 (also known as C2K or IMT Multi‑Carrier (IMT‑MC)) is a family of 3G mobile technology standards for sending voice, data, and signaling data between mobile phones and cell sites. It is developed by 3GPP2 as a backwards-compatib ...
mobile network operator, and launched the services in the next year. * 2008 to 2011: Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) Limited was incorporated;
Moody's Moody's Ratings, previously and still legally known as Moody's Investors Service and often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its histo ...
ceased to assign credit rating to PCCW-HKT Telephone Limited and assign a new rating to Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) Limited instead; it was reported that PCCW-HKT Telephone would become dormant. In the same year, some of the subsidiaries of PCCW, were transferred to an intermediate holding company HKT Group Holdings Limited (HKTGH), for example PCCW Global,
PCCW Mobile PCCW Mobile HK Limited previously known as Mandarin Communications Limited, was a subsidiary of PCCW (via Hong Kong Telecom, HKT) involving mobile network operator of 2G and 3G in Hong Kong. It was previously owned by a Caymans-incorporated Hon ...
, PCCW Media, PCCW Solutions, and engineering division Cascade Limited. However, PCCW re-organised HKTGH again in the eve of the 2011 IPO of HKT Limited, which some non-telecommunications businesses were spin-off from HKTGH. PCCW Media and PCCW Solutions for example, were directly owned by PCCW again. Also, HKTGH became a subsidiary of HKT Limited.


HKT Limited

* 2011: PCCW made HKT Limited, c/o HKT Trust, a spin-off business that separate listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange. * 2012: HKT's PCCW Global acquired
Gateway Communications Gateway Communications, also known as Gateway Carrier Services was a telecommunication business division . It was acquired by PCCW Global, a division of HKT Limited in 2012. HKT Limited itself was a subsidiary of PCCW. Gateway Global Communica ...
, a satellite services provider * 2014: HKT re-acquired CSL (known as its holding company CSL New World Mobility) from Telstra and
New World Development New World Development Company Limited (NWD) is a Hong Kong–based company focused on property, hotels, infrastructure and services and department stores. It was established on 29 May 1970 by Cheng Yu-tung. The company is publicly listed on t ...
; CSL and PCCW Mobile merged, with CSL as the surviving brand; the brand New World Mobility of the former CSL New World Mobility Group was renamed to Sun Mobile * 2017: HKT and subsidiary PCCW Global jointly-acquired Console Connect, a provider of global interconnection solution.


HKT (Hong Kong Telecom)

HKT Group Holdings Limited was formed in 2008 to hold the telecommunications services, media and IT businesses of the PCCW Group, a reorganization designed to improve the Group's operational efficiencies. HKT and its predecessor PCCW-HKT, was the first quadruple play provider in Hong Kong, offering media content and services for
fixed-line A landline is a physical telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber from the subscriber's premises to the network, allowing multiple phones to operate simultaneously on the same phone number. It is also referred to as plain old ...
,
broadband Internet In telecommunications, broadband or high speed is the wide- bandwidth data transmission that exploits signals at a wide spread of frequencies or several different simultaneous frequencies, and is used in fast Internet access. The transmission m ...
, TV and mobile. PCCW acquired HKT, at that time known as Cable & Wireless HKT, in February 2000 from Cable & Wireless.


Main business and subsidiaries


Commercial and international business

The HKT Commercial Group provides ICT services to small, medium and large enterprises. The group managed the installation of Asia's largest IP-enabled network for securities and derivatives markets, built for Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and known as SDNet. It includes an
electronic passport A biometric passport (also known as an electronic passport, e-passport or a digital passport) is a passport that has an embedded electronic microprocessor chip, which contains biometric information that can be used to authenticate the identity ...
system, known as e-PASS, and the Smart Identity Card system for the Hong Kong SAR Government.


Netvigator

Netvigator is a residential and commercial Internet service provider in Hong Kong, a brand of HKT Limited. It is Hong Kong's largest Internet service provider (ISP).


csl, 1O1O, Club SIM

CSL Mobile is an HKT subsidiary, which operates mobile network brands of "csl", "1O1O" and "Club SIM" in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
. CSL, at that time incorporated as CSL New World Mobility, was re-acquired by PCCW via HKT in 2013. After the 2013 acquisition, HKT also merged PCCW Mobile HK into CSL. CSL was sold by PCCW in 2001, while PCCW Mobile HK, formerly SUNDAY, was acquired by PCCW in 2005–06.


SUN Mobile

SUN Mobile, formerly New World Mobility, is a joint venture of HKT Limited and . It was a former joint venture of CSL New World Mobility and Telecom Digital. In 2013 CSL New World Mobility was acquired by PCCW via HKT Limited, from Telstra and
New World Development New World Development Company Limited (NWD) is a Hong Kong–based company focused on property, hotels, infrastructure and services and department stores. It was established on 29 May 1970 by Cheng Yu-tung. The company is publicly listed on t ...
, thus the
mobile virtual network operator A mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) is a wireless communications services provider that does not own the wireless network infrastructure over which it provides services to its customers. An MVNO enters into a business agreement with a mobil ...
was re-branded as SUN Mobile.


HKT Teleservices

* HKT Teleservices, a subsidiary of HKT– formerly PCCW Teleservices, a contact centers and business process outsourcing provider, operates a contact centre outsourcing business along with an operation in the U.S. It handles inbound and outbound calls, emails and other transactions for customers.


PCCW Global

PCCW Global (formerly Beyond The Network America) is the international operating division of HKT Limited. It was owned by PCCW's sub-holding company HKT Group Holdings Limited (HKTGH) since 2008 and HKT Limited since its IPO in 2011. PCCW Global acquired
Gateway Communications Gateway Communications, also known as Gateway Carrier Services was a telecommunication business division . It was acquired by PCCW Global, a division of HKT Limited in 2012. HKT Limited itself was a subsidiary of PCCW. Gateway Global Communica ...
in 2012 and Console Connect in 2017. ** Console Connect ** Crypteia Networks


= YouTube incident

= On 24 February 2008, Pakistan Telecom caused a major interruption of access to the video-sharing website
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. Pakistani Government authorities instructed Pakistan Telecom (PTCL) to prevent access to YouTube within Pakistan. PTCL complied by changing the
BGP Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is a standardized exterior gateway protocol designed to exchange routing and reachability information among autonomous system (Internet), autonomous systems (AS) on the Internet. BGP is classified as a path-vect ...
entry for YouTube – essentially updating its local internet address book for where YouTube's section of the internet is. The idea was to direct its internet users to a page that said YouTube was blocked. Unfortunately, the ISP announced the new route to its Internet link provider, PCCW. PCCW had recently provided temporary access to PTCL in order to restore the nation's loss of internet access due to a previous major submarine cable break event. PTCL began leaking the BGP announcement to PCCW prior to PCCW's completion of the BGP validation and filtering policies process on the newly activated link. This allowed the announcement to propagate to other networks. Once detected, PCCW immediately blocked the leaked announcement from PTCL and access to YouTube was restored within 2 hours.


HKT Interactive Media (PCCW Media)


now TV

now TV is an
IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV), also called TV over broadband, is the service delivery of television over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Usually sold and run by a Telephone company, telecom provider, it consists of broadcast live telev ...
and
pay-TV Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...
provider in Hong Kong delivered by PCCW Media. now TV serves Hong Kong with more than 190 channels of local, Asian and international programming, such as the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A, French Ligue 1, J-League, French Open, ATP World Tour, and World Snooker Tour. In addition, now TV is a producer of news, sports and infotainment programming and a provider of interactive services. nowTV can be viewed on its nowTV app, and select now TV content and interactive applications can also be accessed via the group's 4G mobile network and broadband service.


The Club

a Hong Kong customer
loyalty program A loyalty program or rewards program is a marketing strategy designed to encourage customers to continue to shop at or use the services of one or more businesses associated with the program. Single-company vs. coalition programs Loyalty progr ...
.


HKT Payment Limited

the developer of "Tap & Go", a prepaid mobile payment service for Hong Kong users. Brands and services * HKT-eye
over-the-top media services An over-the-top media service (also known as over-the-top television, or simply OTT) is a digital distribution service of video and audio delivered directly to viewers via the public Internet, rather than through an over-the-air, cable, satel ...
and Internet Protocol TV service delivered to firmware-modified
tablet computer A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being computers ...
*PPS (Payment by Phone Service) – a bill payment service provided by HKT and
EPS An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
.


Former service

*iTV, an
interactive television Interactive television is a form of Technological convergence#Media, media convergence, adding data services to traditional television technology. It has included on-demand delivery of content, online shopping, and viewer polls. Interactive TV i ...
*Cascade PCCW announced the formation of wholly owned
subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...
Cascade Limited () in late 2002 to 2008, It was reported that the staff were offered a wage-cut in the new contract. The name of Cascade is removed from now on, become a part of HKT and named as "Engineering", a business unit of HKT, simply like Commercial group of PCCW. All staff in Cascade had transferred to HKT without changing. ), However, due to 2011
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
of
HKT Limited HKT Limited (), also known as Hong Kong Telecom (), is one of the largest telecommunications companies in Hong Kong. It has a dominant position in fixed-line, mobile, IDD and broadband services in Hong Kong. HKT Group is a subsidiary of PCCW ...
, some of the subsidiaries of HKTGH (which HKTGH was a wholly owned subsidiary of HKT Limited) still have use the name cascade or pccw in their name due to law and finance reasons, although they wholly owned subsidiaries of HKT. A namesake, Mainland China-incorporated "PCCW Cascade Technology (Guangzhou) Limited" () is a wholly owned subsidiary of HKT Limited.


Controversy

In 2018, it was exposed that HKT breached the land leases for 4 of their
telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...
buildings. They were illegally converted to customers service centers.


See also

*
Internet in Hong Kong Communications in Hong Kong includes a wide-ranging and sophisticated network of radio, television, telephone, Internet, and related online services, reflecting Hong Kong's thriving commerce and international importance. There are some 60 int ...
* Communications in Hong Kong *
List of telecommunications companies This list identifies the largest telecommunications companies by total revenue. For a more thorough list, see the By region section. By total revenue ''Note: Numbers of total revenues of most telephone operating companies are sourced from Fo ...
*
List of telecommunications regulatory bodies Legal regulatory bodies that govern telecommunications systems in different countries are as follows. This list contains bodies ensuring effective regulatory role in a territory which is not necessarily a state, but is listed as "territory" or " ...


References

{{Authority control Pacific Century Group Telecommunications companies of Hong Kong Telecommunications companies established in 1925 1925 establishments in Hong Kong Companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Former companies in the Hang Seng Index