The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 458 The Personal Computer Wave and the Internet Age

The importance of transportation is beyond doubt.

If you want to get rich, build roads first!
This is engraved into the bones of the Chinese people.

Liu Tao was quite envious of the Hong Kong subway.

According to the Hong Kong Metro Plan, the total length of the Hong Kong Metro is 264 kilometers, consisting of the Kwun Tong Line, Tsuen Wan Line, Island Line, South Island Line, Tung Chung Line, Tseung Kwan O Line, East Rail Line, Tuen Ma Line, Disneyland Line and Airport Express, with a total of 169 stations.

Now there are only two subway lines in Hong Kong, the Kwun Tong Line and the Tsuen Wan Line, with a total length of 26.1 kilometers!

According to the current cost of subway construction, the cost of building one kilometer of subway in Hong Kong is HK$10.9 billion, and the other 238 kilometers of unbuilt subways mean a market of nearly HK$2600 billion.

And more importantly, in addition to construction, there is another part of the market, and that is trains!

Normally, whoever builds the subway will buy its trains.

The subsequent technical services are basically also provided by someone else!
In other words, this industry is highly monopolistic.

The money earned is not only from the construction of the subway project, but also from the trains and technical service fees.

The profit here is very high.

It is naturally impossible for the British to take away the Hong Kong government's tax and land fiscal revenue. These should naturally be used for the construction of Hong Kong and benefit the people of Hong Kong.

After meeting with Ho Ying-Tong, Liu Tao went to visit the working group the next morning.

As time goes by, the working group becomes even larger.

In addition to dealing with all aspects of Hong Kong's affairs, another important purpose is to learn about the development and construction of modern cities and how to manage a city.

This is a very important topic.

The people in the working group now come here with a learning attitude.

If Liu Tao wants to win the Hong Kong Island Line subway project, he naturally needs the support of the working group.

The leader listened carefully to Liu Tao's introduction and nodded slightly.

"You are right. We should take from the people and give it to the people. Since we have the technology, we cannot hand it over to the Japanese consortium. Who knows if they will leave any secret doors." The leader said in agreement.

The leader said: "I will discuss this matter with the Governor."

When Liu Tao heard what his leader said, he felt relieved. With these words, the matter was settled.

"Are there many people in the working group who use computers?" Liu Tao was a little curious after the business was settled.

The leader smiled and said, "As a leader, you are not sure enough. According to statistics, the number of personal computers in Hong Kong has exceeded 20."

"Nowadays, being familiar with computer has become a new requirement for clerical staff in Hong Kong. There are many training courses in Hong Kong that specialize in training how to use the phone. I heard that business is quite good." The leader smiled and said, "Our work group is also here to learn, so we naturally need to keep pace with the times."

"But we have to thank you, Golden Dragon Computer Group. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to afford a phone. Now there are more than 200 people who can use computers."

With Liu Tao as a butterfly, the wave of the personal computer era came earlier and more violently than in another time and space.

Although the price of computers is a bit expensive for ordinary companies, the improvement in work efficiency is obvious.

If you can't afford a high-end computer, then buy a low-end computer.

The lowest price of Jinlong Computer's low-end computers has even fallen below HK$4000.

All Hong Kong universities offer computer-related majors.

"The network you mentioned earlier is now developing rapidly in Hong Kong," said the leader.

After acquiring Hong Kong Telephone Company in 1982, Hong Kong Telephone Company applied to the Hong Kong government for an exclusive Internet license, and then began to upgrade the local communication system. In the second half of last year, it officially opened the Internet service to individual users. Of course, this network is not connected to the US ARPANET system, but is equivalent to a local area network covering the entire Hong Kong.

As for the Internet fee, it is not cheap, HK$100 per month!

At present, the total number of users who have opened personal Internet services in Hong Kong has exceeded 1, and the monthly Internet fee is HK$100 million, which is HK$1200 million a year.

Liu Tao believes that in the future, more and more users will subscribe to Internet services.

In the end, everyone with a computer in Hong Kong will have access to Internet services.

In this regard, it is much faster than in the mainland.

Ultimately, it all comes down to economic development.

In the mainland, Liu Tao has just achieved network connectivity among Panshan Group’s various companies, universities, and research institutions in the southwest region.

As for individuals, there are definitely less than a thousand people in the entire southwest who own computers!

In Beijing, Shanghai and other cities, regional network connections will not be realized until the Spring Festival next year at the earliest. As for national networking, we have to wait until the root server is officially built and the satellite communication construction is completed. That will take several years, at least until 1989, before networking in major cities can be realized.

As for a truly nationwide Internet extending to every county, it would be a blessing if it could be completed before the millennium.

To popularize the Internet, a huge amount of money needs to be invested.

In comparison, Hong Kong is just a city, so it is much easier.

After 1987, the optical cable was connected to the "Beijing-Kowloon Railway" cable, which enabled network connection between Hong Kong and the mainland.

Another problem with network construction in the mainland is the huge initial investment and a very long payback period.

Because of the Internet, first of all you need a computer, and then there is the Internet only when the computer is connected to the Internet via an Internet cable.

Although the mainland's economy has developed rapidly in recent years, computer purchases are mainly made by colleges and universities and research institutions. In fact, very few computers are purchased by individuals. Liu Tao estimates that there are less than 100,000 individuals who buy computers nationwide!

In order to promote it, Liu Tao plans to have a thorough discussion with relevant departments after the Chinese New Year to promote Internet cafes.

As long as you have a license, you can operate an Internet cafe.

Although Internet cafes have their own problems, there is no doubt that they play a significant role in promoting computers and the Internet.

How many people use computers in Internet cafes!

"The impact of the Internet is absolutely huge. Now is just the beginning. In the future, the Internet will enter everyone's home." Liu Tao smiled.

Liu Tao really invested a lot of money in the layout of Internet and communications, a lot of real money.

So far, the two groups, China Mobile Communications Group and China Internet Group, have suffered huge losses every year.

But with a huge amount of money invested, each province has a provincial headquarters, and each city has a city headquarters, and now it has extended to every province and every city.

The headquarters of each city is responsible for the laying of the city's communication network, communication optical cables, and optical fiber cables, while cities are connected by the province.

Going further up, you will reach the group headquarters.

A large part of the money earned by Panshan Group every year flows to China Mobile Communications Group and China Internet Group. These two groups belong to the same office, but their finances and personnel are separate, and they just work in the same building.

The two groups are at the same level, but are not subordinate to each other and are parallel.

China Mobile Communications Group is responsible for communications construction, operation and services, while China Internet Group is responsible for the construction, operation and services of Internet networks.

(End of this chapter)