3 Hong Kong

3 Hong Kong (also known as 3HK or Three HK; Chinese: 3香港; Jyutping: saam1 hoeng1 gong2; pinyin: Sān Xiānggǎng) is a telecommunications and internet service provider operating in Hong Kong by Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings, a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, operating under the global Three brand. 3 Hong Kong is the first Three-branded company, leading to the development of other operations in different locations.[2]

This article is about the operation of Three in Hong Kong. For its global brand name, see 3 (telecommunications).

3 Hong Kong
Formerly
Hutchison Telecom Hong Kong
Subsidiary
IndustryMobile telecommunications, Broadband internet access
PredecessorOrange[1]
Founded1984 (1984)
Area served
Hong Kong
OwnerCK Hutchison Holdings
ParentHutchison Telecommunications
Hong Kong
Websitethree.com.hk

The company was founded in 1984 but was officially named as 3 Hong Kong in 2002.[3] It currently provides 4.5G, 4G LTE, 3G, GSM dual-band mobile telecommunications and Wi-Fi services through its own network infrastructure. 3HK also provides gaming and home entertainment services.[4][5]

The 3Shop in Mong Kok
The 3Shop in Shatin Plaza

History

The company started in 1984 as Hutchison Telecom Hong Kong, a telecommunications company that is granted licence to operate Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) cellular radio telephone network in Hong Kong. Afterwards, 3 launched Hong Kong's first analogue mobile telecommunications services in 1985.

In 1995, 3 launched their GSM service. In 1998, 3 pushed their first dual-band network in Hong Kong, which is Asia's first dual-band network.

In May 2004, its affiliated 2G operator Orange re-branded its services and changed its name to "3 Dualband", referring to the GSM product, and "3 CDMA", referring to the CDMA product.

On 29 May 2008, Hutchison Telecommunications (Hong Kong) Limited announced that it has signed an agreement with Apple Inc. to bring the iPhone to Hong Kong and Macau later that year under 3.

In 2010, 3 launched their 3Home Broadband (formerly 3ree Broadband) brand, integrating their fixed-line, mobile and Wi-Fi services together.

In 2012, 3 introduced 4G LTE service to Hong Kong. Later on, they announced full coverage in the MTR, the transit railway system in Hong Kong. In the same year, a partnership with Vodafone was launched. 3HK also became a member of the Conexus Mobile Alliance.

In 2014, they announced their plans to offer Skype’s Unlimited World and also VoLTE services.

In 2016, 3 launched their 4.5G services.[6]

In 2017, 3 Hong Kong partnered with Razer, launching a new concept store – RazerStore in Causeway Bay.[7][8]

Services

Mobile network
Frequencies used on 3 in Hong Kong
FrequencyFrequency WidthProtocolNotes
900 MHz (885~895;930~940) [9][10]2*10 MHzGSM/LTE4G: 944.90;899.90
1800 MHz (1760~1770;1855~1865)+(1780~1785;1875~1880)2*15 MHz ( not contiguous)GSM/LTE
2100 MHz (1964.9~1979.7;2154.9~2169.7)2*15 MHzHSPA+/LTE2x10 MHz LTE
2300 MHz (2360~2390)30 MHzTD-LTE20+10 Carrier Aggregation
2600 MHz (2500-2515, 2620-2635)2x15 MHzLTE
2600 MHz (2515~2520;2635~2640)2*5 MHzLTEvia Genius Brand Limited (JV of HKT, three hk)
3.5 GHz (3560~3600)40 MHz5G NR

Up till June 2017, 3 Hong Kong has 3.078 million subscribers, making them the third largest mobile network operator in Hong Kong. As to February 2018, 3 Hong Kong provided the following network service:

In 2017, it is reported that 3 is working with Huawei to provide 5G services in Hong Kong.[11][12]

Home broadband
Main article: HGC Global Communications

3 Hong Kong was originally providing home broadband services as 3Home Broadband. In 2017, 3Home Broadband was rebranded, separating with 3 and abandoning the Three brand. The service has since became one of the key services of HGC Global Communications, another subsidiary of CK Hutchison. Despite the rebrand, 3 Hong Kong stores (dubbed as 3Shop) still provide customer services and promotions for HGC home broadband services.[13]

gollark: If you run it over a phone connection as if it is audio, you are subject to the same issues.
gollark: And in practice you'll get less because stuff isn't optimized for the precise weirdness of phone codecs and there's some lossiness.
gollark: If your phone uses a bitrate of, say, 64kbps, for encoding "voice" audio, then by the pigeonhole principle it is literally impossible to send more than 64kbps down that by meddling with audio.
gollark: Low-bandwidth, at least.
gollark: But it will be very slow.

See also

References
  1. "Macau mobile gamble pays off". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  2. "The Company - Three.com.hk | 3香港". www.three.com.hk. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  3. "Hutchison Whampoa confirms brand name for 3G services - Three.com.hk | 3香港". www.three.com.hk. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  4. "3 HK, GASH Point team on gaming services". Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  5. "3HK | Launch Google Chromecast in Hong Kong for a new OTT home entertainment experience - Three.com.hk | 3香港". www.three.com.hk. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  6. "Hutchison Telecom to add new 4G network, ramp up infrastructure in Hong Kong later this year". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  7. "Three Group, Razer push forward e-sports expansion in Hong Kong". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  8. "RazerStore launches in Hong Kong in partnership with 3HK". Jumpstart Magazine. 26 June 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  9. https://tel_archives.ofca.gov.hk/en/industry/850/success_bidding.pdf
  10. https://www.ofca.gov.hk/filemanager/ofca/en/content_1107/900_MHz_and_1800_MHz_Auction_SuccessfulBidderNotice20190322.pdf
  11. Perez, Bien (10 April 2017). "Hutchison, Huawei start 5G preparations in Hong Kong". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  12. "3 HK rolls out NB-IoT network on 900MHz band - Mobile World Live". Mobile World Live. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  13. "HGC unveils new name and brand identity | ComputerWorld Hong Kong". www.cw.com.hk. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
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