Introduction to the TRP
In 2011 the TRP, directed by Dr. John Ure, relocated within the University of Hong Kong to the Social Science Faculty under the Social Science Research Centre (SSRC). From its foundation in 1993 the TRP had been located at the University’s Centre of Asian Studies (CAS). Mr. Terence Graham is part-time researcher at the TRP. Originally known as the Telecommunications Research Project, TRP has been renamed the Technology Research Project (TRP) to reflect the convergence of telecoms, IT and media.
From 1993-1998 the TRP was funded by the Hong Kong Telecom Foundation to carry out economic research on policy and network developments across the Asia Pacific region. The major outcome was John Ure (ed) Telecommunications in Asia: Policy, Planning and Development (HKU Press, 1995, 1997). The book rapidly became a basic reference for academics, policy makers and the industry in the 1990s.
From 1998 the TRP became self-funding. This involved consulting projects for international and regional agencies such as the ITU, policy makers and regulators and for the private sector. An important development was to generate sponsorship for the Telecommunications InfoTechnology Forum (TIF) a regular series of tripartite events involving government, industry and academia. Each forum generated a Background Briefing Paper researched and written by TRP and a summary of the presentations and discussion outcomes. These are available at the TIF website. Funding from TIF Ltd was donated to the HKU for the TRP. The directors of TIF Ltd remain Dr. John Ure (director of the TRP) and Dr. Peter Lovelock..
Dr. John Ure and Dr. Lovelock are also the directors of TRPC Pte Ltd, the consulting and training services provider, based in Singapore, which now provides the funding for TRP research. The TRP website has been made part of the TRPC website along with the papers of the TIF.
Industrially-focused research appears mostly on the TRPC webpages, while more academically-focused research continues to appear on the TRP webpages. Since 2009, TRPC has also assisted the Asia chapter of the International Institute of Communications (IIC) to run forums and these appear on the TRPC webpages.