The government proposes to issue licences for telecom operators who provide “quadruple play” of cable television, Internet access, fixed line and mobile communication services in Macau, Secretary for Transport and Public Works Raimundo do Rosario said on Monday.
According to Macau Post Daily, in telecommunications, quadruple play or quad play is a marketing term combining the triple play service of broadband Internet access, television and telephone with wireless service provisions. This service set is also sometimes humorously referred to as “The Fantastic Four”, according to Wikipedia.
There will be two types of licences issued by the government, one for network infrastructure operators, such as CTM and MTel, while the other is for operators that provide retail services to the public, according to an outline of the proposal released by the Post and Telecommunications Bureau (CTT) on Monday.
However, Rosario noted that the government does not yet have a timetable for the implementation.
Rosario made the remarks after a meeting with the legislature’s Public Administration Affairs Monitoring Committee to discuss the government-proposed Convergence of Telecommunication Networks and Services System. As is customary, the meeting was closed to the media.
Rosario used the city’s mobile network operators as an example: “In the future, we [the government] hope that each operator can provide fixed line, mobile network and other services.”
Asked by a reporter when the system would get off the ground, Rosario said it would take a lot of time to amend the related laws and by-laws (administrative regulations), adding the implementation would not be completed in a short period of time.
Rosario also said the government would consult all interested parties, such as Macau residents and the telecom sector.
“This [quad play] is not something new,” Rosario said. “I believe that everybody [residents and the telecom sector] will agree to it [the implementation of quad play].”
CTT Director Derby Lau Wai Meng, who also attended the meeting with the committee, said the government had received positive feedback from the telecom operators during a meeting hosted by the government earlier.
Lau also said the quad play service would benefit both residents and the telecom operators. She said residents could buy all four services from one operator while the operators could have more space for development as they would be allowed to provide more kinds of services.
