"CT2" stands for "Cordless Telephone-2nd Generation". The response from students has been enthusiastic.
"It's convenient. You don't have to look for public telephones everywhere and queue up for them," said Mr. Kenneth Lam, a Year 2 Information Systems student who works as a part-time bank teller. Hong Kong Poly so far is the only tertiary institution with links to such a communication network. Although the number of tertiary students using cordless phones is unknown, Mr. Lam is certainly not the only user. He said there are three or four students out of 60 in his class who have CT2 cordless phones.
Another student from the Polytechnic, Miss Bonnie Wong of the Language and Communication Department, estimated that there are around four CT2 users of every 10 Polytechnic students. Said she: "It is very common to find students with CT2 phones and pagers in their pockets all around the campus."
There are three licensed companies providing CT2 services in Hong Kong: Chevalier (Telepoint) Limited, Pacific Telelink Limited, and Hutchison Paging Limited. But only the first two were willing to talk about the development of their business.
The marketing manager of Chevalier (Telepoint) Limited, Mr. Kenneth K. Ng, explained what CT2 phones are: "The first generation of cordless telephone somewhat looks like the ones most of us are using now at home. The two appliances, the homebase and the handset, are linked by electronic waves and can be used only within certain distance. CT2 phones have the same limitation, so we have to build more public base stations which are, in a general sense, similar to the homebase at home. We hope to increase the area of coverage of CT2 phones to every corner of Hong Kong."
Mr. Stephen K.T. Ngan, general manager of Pacific Telelink Limited's Marketing and Sales Department, regards the tertiary student market as "a valuable one". "We are definitely interested in this market," he said. "It is well known that CT2 phones cater especially to the need of youngsters with relatively low purchasing power, since the phones are convenient and easily affordable."
Mr. Ng of Telepoint had similar opinions: "According to a rough estimation, no less than 60 to 70 percent of tertiary students are using pagers. CT2 phones would be a good start for them to have better communication. Moreover, tertiary students are less resistant to new products and have higher receptive power, so it becomes possible for us to introduce such new things."
Students have different views on the use of CT2 phones. Miss Jovy Wong, a Year 1 student at Hong Kong University, had a CT2 phone which she borrowed from her sister. "I thought it would be useful when I borrowed it from my sister," she said. "Yet, after some time, I began to think that maybe I just don't need it. There are public telephones every time I want to make a call. Sometimes I even forget I have a handset myself."
She also mentioned a psychological factor. "I have only seen students using CT2 phones on campus once or twice only---it is really not common at Hong Kong University. As a result, I feel embarrassed every time I take out the handset and dial."
A Hong Kong Poly student said she has no intention to buy a CT2 phone at all, despite the fact that they are so popular there. She wondered whether tertiary students really need CT2 phones. "I guess that most students who have CT2 phones don't really need it. Maybe they just feel honoured, I don't know," she said.
There are also a number of disadvantages to using cordless phones on campus. They are clumsy to carry, especially if the user already has a pager. They also are superfluous as there are plenty of public telephones on campus. Finally, using cordless phones is really expensive, as each call is charged by duration.
Mr. Tam Chung Leong, a CT2 user and Year 3 student at the Polytechnic, disagreed. "Using CT2 phones is already very common at the Polytechnic, so I can't see why it's such a big deal to have one," he said.
Since the responses from the Polytechnic students seem so favourable after only a few months' promotion, the companies are beginning to turn their eyes on the other five tertiary institutes. "We have received phonecalls and sometimes letters from students asking why there is no public base station (re-transmitter) at their colleges. There is market there," said Mr. Ng of Chevalier.
Mr. Ng said applications for installing CT2 networks have been launched, but The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong University "seem indifferent" on the issue. According to Mr. Ng, the reason stated by the colleges was that it would be inappropriate for them to be engaged in commercial activities. "But it is no different from setting up a public telephone in the campus. It is commercial in nature, but it also serves the students," he argued. He said the Polytechnic is less resistant because it is more business-oriented and thus more sensitive to market demands.
Less resistant thought it may seem, the Polytechnic still holds a conservative view towards the installation of Telelink's CT2 network, according to Mr. Ngan. It has approved the applications of the other two companies, but is rather "reluctant" to permit the one used by Telelink. The authorities seem to be taking a wait-and-see attitude toward the response to the two existing networks before making their decision, in Mr. Ngan's words.
"I don't know whether the reason is their stubbornness or whatever. Or may be they just want to maintain their status as an educational institution for the elites only, and don't want to get into such a commercialized product. But these reasons seem nonsense to us as businessmen," he said.
He insisted that Telelink would try step by step to obtain the approval. All in all, he explained, they would not want a big blind spot, the Polytechnic, to remain unconnected in such an important area, Hung Hum.
Though facing obstacles, both managers are optimistic about the development of CT2 at the six colleges and universities.
Mr. Norman Yip, an engineer in The Chinese University's Buildings Office, said his office is responsible for checking whether there would be any audio-visual interference, where the signal- receiving stations would be installed, and whether they would obstruct the use of existing facilities--- for instance, the electrical supply.
"The communication companies so far have assured us that everything would be all right, but we have reservations toward it," said Mr. Yip. "The clarification process is still going on." He said the Land District Office is also involved because of the lease contract between The Chinese University and the government.
However, Ms. Regina Wu of the Sha Tin Land District Office, the person in charge of land affairs for the University, said that she has not received any inquiries from the University about the installation of a CT2 network for the time being.
The Hong Kong University deals with the issue in a similar way. Mr Mccgraw, director of estates at Hong Kong University, said that the University has received applications for communication network installations, but they have all been turned down. "They are simply looking for cheap locations--- geographically they (sites at the University) are good locations for the signals around neighbouring districts. The CT2 companies are just aiming to avoid paying commercial rents elsewhere. That was the distinctive impression we got." He also said the lease conditions that the University has with the government do not permit CT2 transmitters. "The lease conditions do not allow us to carry out commercial operations," he said. "We are to operate as a university."
When asked how he would define the word "commercial", he said that most companies wanted to pay money in the form of rentals for the privilege of locating their equipment on University land. "For the University to receive payment for equipment which is not serving the companies themselves is a form of commercial operation," he explained.
"Frankly speaking, we did not see the point of going backward and forward, spending valuable time negotiating with government authorities to see whether we are entitled to carry these activities or not," he added. Mr. Mccgraw said no request from any student organization, staff association or any other group has ever been made for the CT2 service.