Slavery, starvation, and war are certainly more pressing issues than bringing high-speed Internet services to the residents of South Lantau in Hong Kong. But we each strive to make the world a better place wherever we are, with the resources we have available to us. For much of the developed world, improving conditions for the world in general means communicating with others, coordinating efforts, and transmitting information. Increasingly, this is done via the Internet. Unfortunately for South Lantau residents, any effort to change the world for the better using Internet communication is hampered by disorganized installation services, slow Internet speeds and poor customer support.

This appears to be due in large part to a lack of competition. South Lantau has a single wired Internet bandwidth provider, and wireless options often are lacking in coverage and speed. This has been a source of frustration to residents ranging from the mother trying to access medical information to diagnose a sick child to the journalist trying to get a story submitted. And there are public institutions, such as health clinics, government offices, and schools, which also have need of high speed, reliable Internet communications.

Perhaps South Lantau has not received attention because census figures miscount the real population, which is estimated to be perhaps as much as 10 times larger than the official tally. This population is growing, as residents of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon seek more affordable, larger, and environmentally cleaner living conditions.

The purpose of this petition is not to shame the current provider into offering better service. It is to show the current provider, as well as other potential providers, that there is adequate demand on South Lantau to justify an investment in higher speed Internet services than currently exist. And that the company that offers them first, with a reasonable level of customer service and support, will win many loyal customers.

More Information:

Hong Kong's Digital Divide

Hong Kong prides itself with having the fastest residential broadband connections worldwide. However, this claim only holds for urban areas that are connected to a fiber optic network, and even in these areas it is only true for buildings that are actually connected. South Lantau Island is home to some 30000 people. Currently, the maximum available fixed network broadband speed using DSL is 8 Mbps.

In South Lantau, broadband customers can only dream of the speeds up to 1000 Mbps which are available in urban areas of Hong Kong. The existing, slow DSL service which uses the decades old legacy telephone lines is not cheap either. PCCW charges HKD 398 per month for all connection speeds at 300 Mbps or below, regardless if it's 8 Mbps via copper or 300 Mbps via fiber.

Why Mobile Broadband is Not the Solution

Network operators often advertise 4G LTE mobile broadband as the solution for the future. While mobile broadband gives users relatively fast Internet access on the road, mobile broadband is not comparable to a fixed line connection. A fixed line connection guarantees stable bandwidth from the customer's premises to the central office 24/7. Mobile broadband quality is highly volatile, and subject to service degradation with an increasing number of users in a particular area and increased distance from the cell tower.

Bridge the Digital Divide in South Lantau

We, the people living in South Lantau, urge you to upgrade the telecommunications infrastructure in South Lantau to  level that matches Hong Kong's reputation as the world's broadband capital. This is only possible by deploying Fiber to the home (FTTH). We are willing to upgrade our existing DSL connections to fiber at the same terms and conditions that users in urban areas enjoy for this service.