The Future is Here
Kenny Koo, executive director and CEO of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings, on 5G’s prospects
The average consumer isn’t really interested in why 5G—the fifth generation of cellular networks—is big news. “In layman’s terms, 5G has three main components: super high speed, low latency and the ability to connect millions of devices,” explains Kenny Koo, executive director and CEO of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings. Demonstrating its everyday relevance is a challenge
Koo has taken a creative approach to.
“I like to use the [abbreviation] ABCDE to explain 5G’s wide-ranging uses: artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, big data and edge computing. Together with 5G, these technologies can work together to introduce endless possibilities for people’s everyday digital interactions.”
“We have invested more than HK$3 billion since 2019, expanding the mobile network and developing 5G,” says Koo, who highlights not only the technical advancements, but also 5G’s lifestyle applications.
Making sure it’s ready to offer its customers the best of those applications, 3 Hong Kong has introduced a service enabling customers to report locations with less-than-perfect network coverage and receive prompt support. It has also recently launched an invitationonly membership programme, Nobo, offering tailormade solutions to enhance customers’ digital lives. Currently these range from customdesigned routers worthy of display, to sending a technician to a customer’s home to tune their antennae and improve their connection.
NFT art is another space that 3 Hong Kong is looking to enter. It recently launched Hong Kong’s first ever immersive NFT art installation, Orbstellar, where visitors are invited to design their own galaxy, which can be projected into the installation space and later saved into their NFT wallets. They can then share and trade the artworks.
Ever the forward thinker, Koo is excited by where technology could go in the future. “The phones of the future may not look like [they do today]. They could be AR glasses without a device,” he says. Looking ahead, Koo says, “We are also aggressively exploring if we can accept cryptocurrencies as a bill payment method. We’re used to being innovators in the market; we were one of the first telecoms companies to work with Skype and later Whatsapp, when they were disrupting the market.” It’s proof, he says, of a desire to create the trends, rather than follow them.