Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd. (HTX)
News and Research on Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd. (HTX)
Business Description
Hutchison Telecommunications International Limited provides mobile and fixed-line telecommunications services. The company operates telecommunications services in eight markets worldwide: Hong Kong, Macau, Israel, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Ghana.
Services and products
The company offers a variety of voice, video, data and value-added services over mobile and fixed line networks. It operates 2G and 3G mobile networks using GSM, GPRS, CDMA and W-CDMA across its businesses.
Mobile telecommunications
The company offers a range of services designed to meet the needs of the local market in which it operates. Specifically the company offers:
2G: In Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Macau and Sri Lanka, the company offers 2G services using GSM 800, 900 and/or 1800 spectrum. Its 2G services offer basic mobile telecommunications services such as: local voice; SMS, or short messaging system; MMS, or multimedia messaging system; IDD, or international direct dialing; and international roaming. The company also offers a variety of value-added services, including voicemail, caller identification display, call waiting, call forwarding and call blocking.
The company offers BlackBerry wireless email services operating on its GSM, GPRS and 3G networks in Hong Kong and Israel. BlackBerry wireless email services provide corporate customers with an end-to-end encrypted wireless solution that includes integrated email, mobile telecommunications and electronic organizer features.
3G: The company launched 3G services in Hong Kong in January 2004, in Israel in December 2004 and Indonesia in March 2007. Its 3G services are capable of transferring data at faster speeds. In addition to traditional voice services, 3G technology provides real time person-to-person mobile video calls, the ability to stream and download music and video clips and other multimedia content, as well as other data services.
As of December 31, 2006, in Hong Kong the company’s 3G services offered 33 service channels providing, daily updates of news, weather, the Hong Kong stock market, video clips of football highlights, music video clips and movie trailer video clips. In Hong Kong, the company also is partnered with various content providers such as Reuters, i-Cable and TVB to provide local and world news reports, traffic updates and television series highlights. The company launched the X-Series services in Hong Kong in January 2007. The X-Series provides customers with access to a host of mobile broadband Internet applications, including MSN and Google Mobile Search, via their ‘3’ mobile handsets.
In Israel, the company’s 3G services include video calls and a portal of content services including video-based services under the ‘obox live’ brand. In March 2006, the company launched HSDPA to the business sector. It launched HSDPA with limited coverage in the center of Israel. In Indonesia, the company provides a UMTS infrastructure over its GSM 1800 network in main cities including Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya.
CDMA: The company offers CDMA2000 1X networks in Thailand, Vietnam and Ghana. It offers basic mobile telecommunications services such as: local voice; SMS, MMS, IDD, and international roaming. The company also offers a variety of value-added services, including voicemail, caller identification display, call waiting, call forwarding and call blocking. CDMA2000 1X technology provides the ability to download music and other multimedia content, as well as other data services.
Fixed-line telecommunications
The company, in Hong Kong, provides a range of fixed-line telecommunication services to retail customers (business and residential) as well as wholesale customers such as other telecommunications operators.
Retail: The company offers fixed-line local voice and fax services, as well as a range of value-added services, such as call waiting and call forwarding, to residential and business customers. It also provides IDD voice and fax services, international calling card accounts, prepaid phone cards and personal number services to these customers. In addition, the company offers residential broadband Internet access as well as broadband Internet access to business customers and data connectivity for large corporations, including financial institutions, and governmental and quasi-governmental bodies. The company also offers data center facilities, managed hosting solutions, operations outsourcing and disaster recovery solutions for both local and multinational corporations.
Wholesale: The company offers a range of wholesale fixed-line telecommunications services, including connectivity for mobile telecommunications operators, leased lines for telecommunications operators, ISPs and other international wholesale customers, and IDD voice services to international carriers.
Sales and marketing: The company has retail outlets in Hong Kong, Macau, Israel, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.
Operating companies
Hong Kong and Macau mobile telecommunications business
The company, in Hong Kong, provides 2G CDMA and GSM dual band and 3G mobile telecommunications services, all under the ‘3’ brand. In Macau the company provides 2G GSM dual band mobile telecommunications services under the ‘3’ brand. The company provided services to approximately 2.1 million customers, as of December 31, 2006.
Products and services
The company, in Hong Kong and Macau, offers basic mobile telecommunications services such as local voice, SMS, MMS, IDD and international roaming. International voice roaming is available in 247 destinations, with data roaming available in 131 destinations and video roaming in 51 countries. The company provides an array of 3G video mobile phones in Hong Kong. As of December 31, 2006, the company offered 58 models and 115 color choices. It works with approximately 130 3G content providers from worldwide.
The company, in June 2006, acquired from NTT DoCoMo the right to use its integrated i-mode services package for deploying i-mode service in Hong Kong and Macau. i-mode is a service developed by NTT DoCoMo that allows mobile users to send and receive e-mail and access online services and an array of information from i-mode servers. The company provides territory-wide HSDPA coverage in Hong Kong.
The company also launched the ‘X-Series’ services in Hong Kong in January 2007. The X-Series provides customers with access to a host of mobile broadband Internet applications, including MSN and Google Mobile Search, through their ‘3’ mobile handsets.
Competition: The company competes with China Mobile Peoples Telephone Company Limited; SmarTone Mobile Communications Limited; PCCW Mobile HK Limited; and CSL New World Mobility Limited. The company, in Macau, competes with Companhia de Telecommunicações de Macau S.à r.l. and China Unicom.
Hong Kong fixed-line business
The company offers local and IDD voice call services, broadband Internet access and various data transmission services to business and residential customers in Hong Kong through Hutchison Global Communications Limited, or Hutchison Global Communications, a subsidiary of Hutchison Global Communications Holdings.
The company is a fixed-line telecommunications operator in Hong Kong, with approximately 331,000 residential voice lines as of December 31, 2006. It also is a broadband Internet service provider, with approximately 237,000 residential broadband Internet customers in Hong Kong as of December 31, 2006.
The company owns and operates fiber-optic building-to-building telecommunications network in Hong Kong, with approximately 4,900 kilometers of linear ducting and approximately 860,000 kilometers of core fiber-optic cable.
Products and services
The company integrates traditional and new technologies in Hong Kong by offering services which combined basic telecommunications services with video phones. It also offers bi-directional residential broadband services available in Hong Kong.
Competition: The company, in the fixed-line business in Hong Kong, faces competition from four other fixed-line telecommunications operators, including PCCW. Other competitors include: Wharf T&T Limited, or Wharf T&T; New World Telecommunications Limited, or NWT; and Hong Kong Broadband Network Limited, or Hong Kong Broadband.
India
The company, in May 2007, sold to a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vodafone of its entire interest in CGP Investments Holdings, a company which held all of the company’s direct and indirect equity and loan interests in Indian mobile telecommunications operation, comprising Hutchison Essar and its subsidiaries.
Israel
The company, in Israel, provides 2G GSM and 3G mobile telecommunications services through Partner. Partner is the mobile telecommunications operator in Israel, with approximately 2.7 million customers as of December 31, 2006. Partner had approximately 276,000 3G customers as of December 31, 2006. As of March 31, 2007, the company held approximately 50.5% of the issued share capital of Partner. In July 2006, Partner acquired the transmission business of Med-1, including its fiber-optic cable infrastructure comprising a network of approximately 900 kilometers of submerged and terrestrial transmission fiber. Partner markets its services under the Orange brand.
Products and services
Partner’s 2G services include standard and enhanced voice services, as well as value-added services and products such as roaming, voice mail, voice messaging, color picture messaging, ringtone and game downloads, information services, GPRS, which enables the packet transfer of data in an ‘always on’ mode at a speed of up to 20-30 Kbps, personal numbering and data and fax transmission services.
Partner’s 3G services include video calls, a portal of content services including video-based services under the ‘obox live’ brand, and the transmission of data at speeds of up to 384 Kbps. In March 2006, Partner launched HSDPA to the business sector.
Competition: The company competes with Pelephone, Cellcom and MIRS Communications Limited, or MIRS. It also competes with Palestine Telecommunication Co. Ltd., or Paltel.
Thailand
The company, in Thailand, markets mobile telecommunications services using CDMA2000 1X technology under the ‘Hutch’ brand. As of December 31, 2006, the Hutch brand service had approximately 728,000 customers. The company’s business operations in Thailand are conducted mainly through two entities, Hutchison CAT Wireless MultiMedia Limited, or Hutchison CAT, and BFKT (Thailand) Limited, or BFKT. CAT Telecom has the right to operate a CDMA2000 1X network. Hutchison CAT is a corporation with two principal shareholders, Hutchison Wireless MultiMedia Holdings Limited, or Hutchison Wireless, and CAT Telecom.
Hutchison CAT has a contract with CAT Telecom to provide exclusive marketing services for CAT Telecom in central Thailand, an area that covers 25 of Thailand’s 76 provinces, including the capital city of Bangkok. CAT Telecom is the only mobile telecommunications operator in Thailand utilizing CDMA2000 1X technology.
Products and services
The company, in addition to traditional voice and text messaging services, provides services and applications that are designed to take use of the CDMA2000 1X network. It offers a variety of value added multimedia services including ringtones, ringback tones, audiotext, wallpapers, animation, video clip downloads, games, news, and horoscopes. It provides consumer A-GPS services allowing subscribers to locate target devices as well as to find location-sensitive information under Navi content service in Thailand.
Competition: The company’s competitors include Advanced Info Services, Total Access Communications and True Move Company Limited.
Indonesia
The company provides mobile telecommunications services in Indonesia through PT Hutchison CP Telecommunications, or PT Hutchison CP. PT Hutchison CP holds a combined 2G and 3G mobile telecommunications license in Indonesia. It launched services in March 2007 under the ‘3’ brand and provides services on a GSM 1800 network with UMTS infrastructure overlaid on the GSM network in key cities, including Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya.
Products and services
The company provides prepaid 2G and 3G services and intends to launch postpaid services in June 2007. In addition to basic voice and text messaging services, it provides 3G access, video calls, MMS and other data-based services through GPRS at speeds up to 64 kbps and through 3G at speeds up to 384 kbps. It also provides value added services such as streaming and ring back tones.
Competition: The company competes with the following mobile telecommunications operators: PT Telekomunikasi Selular, or PT Telekom; PT Indonesian Satellite Corp, or PT Indosat; PT Excelcomindo Pratama, or PT Excelcomindo; and PT Mobile-8 Telecom Tbk, or PT Mobile 8.
Vietnam
The company provides mobile telecommunications services in Vietnam through a business cooperation contract, or BCC, with Hanoi Telecommunications Joint Stock Company, or Hanoi Telecommunications. It launched services in January 2007 under the ‘HT Mobile’ brand and provides nationwide services on a CDMA2000 1XEV-DO network.
Products and services
The company provides prepaid and postpaid services in Vietnam. Evolution-data optimized, or EV-DO, is a wireless radio broadband data standard adopted by CDMA mobile phone service providers that permits faster data transfer rates. Using CDMA 20001XEV-DO, the company offers customers a variety of telecommunications services, ranging from basic voice and data services to multimedia services using advanced mobile technology such as voice SMS, color ring tones and game downloads. The company also provides a range of content covering sports, news, entertainment and finance.
Competition: The company competes with GSM-based as well as CDMA-based mobile telecommunication operators. The three GSM operators in Vietnam are: Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services Company, which markets its services under the ‘MobiFone’ brand; Vietnam Telecom Services Company, which markets its services under the ‘Vinaphone’ brand; and Vietel Corporation, which markets its services under the ‘Vietel Mobile’ brand.
Sri Lanka
The company operates a nationwide GSM network with a customer base of approximately 559,000 customers as of December 31, 2006.
Products and services
Hutchison Lanka offers three tariff packages with incoming rates to suit customer needs. In addition to traditional voice and data services, Hutchison Lanka also offers value added services such as reload, IDD, ringback tones, international SMS, cricket alerts, call conference, call forwarding/waiting, and ring tone and picture downloads.
Competition: The company competes with Dialog Telekom, Tigo, Mobitel and Hutchison Lanka.
Ghana
The company, in 1998, acquired interest in Kasapa Telecom Limited, or Kasapa. The company operates a prepaid system and began offering voucher cards for sale in March 2003. In addition to these traditional voucher cards, it introduced electronic prepaid vouchers (printed for each customer) at point-of-sale terminals during 2004. The company also introduced lowest denomination voucher cards in December 2005.
History
Hutchison Telecommunications International Limited was founded in 1985.
