Hong Kong's Telecommunication Deregulation since 1995 in Light of International Experiences

Long hailed as a pioneer in telecommunications deregulation, this paper examines Hong Kong's market liberalization experience since 1995. To understand Hong Kong's deregulation effort, we proceed by evaluating the liberalization exercise in light of experiences derived from other countries. Three countries, including the United States, Canada and New Zealand, are chosen for comparative study. These countries are not randomly selected but rather because they reflect three different deregulation approaches. Different deregulation approaches were a result of the diverse ways these countries adopted in dealing with problems that had surfaced during the deregulation process. Our study indicates that market solutions to such problems seem to be a better way forward than letting the government micromanage the process of deregulation.