Hong Kong mobile operator SmarTone has entered the city's home telephone market with the launch of a new wireless fixed-line service.
The firm will challenge fixed-line leaders PCCW and Hutchision with a service that offers local, IDD and VoIP calls over a GSM/W-CDMA network.
Consumers can sign up the service for a standard plan of HK$118 ($15.17) per month, with the phone priced at HK$1,180, or an 18-month contract for HK$118 per month with the phone for free.
CEO Douglas Li said despite the fierce competition in the territory's fixed-line market, there was still room for new players.
"The fixed-line market has seen little genuine innovation for a very long time.Hong Kong consumers have suffered from very limited choice and poor value for money," Li said.
Li said the service covered 90% of households in Hong Kong, and the company has appointed its mobile unit, SmarTone-Vodafone as the sole marketing and sales channel for the new service.