Telecom operator CTM opened its first data centre outside Macau in Hong Kong Thursday, with the company’s CEO Vandy Poon Fuk Hei saying that it would provide an extra back-up service, as well as enhance the security and reliability of data management for its customers.
Poon made the remarks after the opening ceremony of the new data centre located in CITIC Telecom Tower in Kwai Chung in Hong Kong.
CITIC Telecom International is the parent company of CTM. CITIC Telecom International Chairman Xin Yuejiang said in his speech that the new data centre marks the strength of the group’s telecom market in Hong Kong and Macau, a response to Macau enterprises’ requests for data management of an international standard, and its effort to turn Macau into a smart city.
Poon said that after Typhoon Hato last year, the company sought ways to improve security and reliability of data storage and management, and with the support of CITIC and acknowledgment by the Macau Post and Telecommunications Bureau (CTT) and local Office for Personal Data Protection (GPDP), they were able to set up an offshore data centre in Hong Kong.
According to Poon, customers with data stored in the company’s data centre in Macau can also opt to use its data centre service in Hong Kong for an additional back-up of their data.
Poon said that the transfer of data would need to be approved by the Office for Personal Data Protection, adding that a simplified application process that could just take a day would be available. However, Poon was quick to add that the simplified application process would not be available for enterprises such as gaming operators that handle sensitive data and personal information.
The Office for Personal Data Protection said in a statement yesterday that after last year’s typhoon, Macau’s civil society was calling for better data protection within the scope of the Personal Data Protection Law.
“Macau is a small low-lying area with a high population density, these factors restricted Macau’s ability to set up a data centre as a precautionary measure for a crisis [situation],” the statement said, pointing out that consequently there was a practical demand for a data centre in Hong Kong.
According to Poon, CTM’s data centre in Hong Kong is an extension of the one in Macau where all the construction and implementation standards are synchronised with the data centre in Macau.
The data centre service in Hong Kong is directly connected to the core network of CTM, catering to the needs of customers in various sectors, such as the government, large enterprises and gaming enterprises that have strict requirements for data security, a CTM statement pointed out.
CTM is Macau’s main telecom company.
The data centre in Hong Kong has a 24/7 security room and is equipped with 24-hour video surveillance. The centre also adopts a safe usage management mechanism for access of authorised personnel only.
