No quick fix seen over 5G restrictions in Tai Po, Stanley

Hong Kong's government expects to solve the problem of 5G restriction within three to four years, said Sean Lee, director and chief executive of China Mobile Hong Kong.

Among the different frequency bands that may support 5G services, the 3.5 GHz band provides wide coverage with high data speeds and has been considered as the most popular band for deploying 5G.

But in Tai Po and Stanley, the satellite earth stations currently use the 3.5 GHz band. To avoid interference, the Communications Authority has set up restriction zones there to constrain the development of mobile base stations operating using the 3.5 GHz band in the area.

The government has been in talks with two satellite operators over the relocation of their telemetry, tracking and control stations in Tai Po to Chung Hom Kok Teleport, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said in her 2020 policy address.

China Mobile Hong Kong launched Hong Kong's first commercial 5G standalone network last year, which allows independent operation of a 5G service without any interaction with an existing 4G core. In comparison, non-standalone 5G is built over an existing 4G network.

Lee said standalone 5G caters to corporate clients who demand low latency and high security and can be applied in areas including smart city, eHealth, finance and live broadcast.

Standalone 5G also makes available network slicing services, through slicing the 5G network into a number of end-to-end virtual networks based on clients' specific demands.