Private 5G & IoT: The Power Duet Fuelling Hong Kong's Smart City Revolution

Abstract from NTT Innovation Summit’s panel discussion

“Orchestrating a New Era of Machine Interaction: The Duet of Private 5G & IoT”

 30th October 2024

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IOWN and APN: Mastering the Microsecond Advantage in Financial Services

How photonics networks enable ultra-low latency and stable performance for modern finance

 

By Stephen Tsang, Chief Revenue Officer, NTT Com Asia; and Steven So, Chief Operating Officer, NTT Com Asia

Published: April 16, 2026 
Moderator Stephen Tsang_r2
steven-so

Stephen Tsang

Chief Revenue Officer

NTT Com Asia

Steven So

Chief Operating Officer

NTT Com Asia

Executive Summary

As financial services enter the microsecond economy, competitive advantage is increasingly shaped by the infrastructure foundation that supports real‑time execution, AI‑driven operations, and resilient continuity. This article explores how the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) and the NTT's All‑Photonics Network (APN) address the physical constraints of electronic transmission by keeping data in the optical domain end‑to‑end. By reducing conversion overhead and enabling ultra‑low latency at scale, photonic networking provides a strong digital backbone for financial institutions operating in high‑speed, data‑intensive environments. 

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Why is Ultra-low Latency infrastructure Critical for the Microsecond Economy in Finance? 

In today’s financial markets, even a single millisecond can mean the difference between profit and loss—making speed, reliability, and trust critical to outcomes. From high‑frequency trading and real‑time payments to AI‑driven risk management, institutions must sense, decide, and act across highly distributed systems with minimal tolerance for delay.

This shift is not solely about achieving faster peak speeds. It reflects a broader need to maintain stable end‑to‑end performance as data volumes grow and workloads become more interconnected. As latency requirements tighten, institutions are placing greater emphasis on consistent performance across distributed environments, particularly where routing paths, traffic patterns, and system interactions can influence overall experience.

In this context, infrastructure is no longer a passive utility. It has become an active enabler of execution integrity, operational resilience, and regulatory confidence.

Why is the Transition to an All-Photonics Network (APN) Considered a Structural Shift in Connectivity?

Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) is a next‑generation network and computing architecture designed to move beyond the physical limits of electronic‑based infrastructure. By integrating optical technologies across networks and computing platforms, IOWN supports ultra‑low latency, massive bandwidth, and improved energy efficiency, helping enterprises scale modern financial workloads more effectively.

At the core of this architecture is the All‑Photonics Network (APN), which keeps data in the optical domain end‑to‑end. By reducing repeated optical–electrical–optical conversions that add delay and power consumption, APN enables ultra‑low latency, high bandwidth, and more stable end‑to‑end performance engineered for mission‑critical financial systems.

Rather than optimising performance only after deployment, photonic networking allows institutions to design infrastructure with consistency, resilience, and scalability built in from the outset—a critical advantage as AI adoption and real‑time analytics continue to accelerate.

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Why This Matters for Hong Kong’s Financial Ecosystem?

Hong Kong remains one of the world’s leading international financial centres. According to the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), Hong Kong ranked third globally and first in Asia‑Pacific in 2024, with strong scores in infrastructure, human capital, and financial sector depth. At the same time, AI adoption is accelerating. A 2025 survey by the Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research found that 75% of financial institutions in Hong Kong have already implemented or are piloting Generative AI use cases, with adoption expected to rise further in the coming years.

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“We’re seeing a clear shift in the market: AI is moving from experimentation to production, and financial institutions are accelerating investment in infrastructure that can support real time, data intensive operations. Our approach is to help customers move faster—from strategy to deployment—by bringing together next generation connectivity, financial grade infrastructure, and ecosystem collaboration.”
Moderator Stephen Tsang_r2

Stephen Tsang

Chief Revenue Officer, NTT Com Asia

How can Financial Institutions Gain a Competitive Advantage through Microsecond-level Network Speeds? 

As financial services continue to evolve toward real‑time, AI‑enabled operations, infrastructure choices increasingly shape competitiveness and confidence. In the microsecond economy, ultra‑low‑latency and stable performance are no longer optional enhancements—they are foundational requirements for the future of global finance.

IOWN and APN are not simply about faster networks. They represent an approach to engineering trust into digital infrastructure at the physical layer, where performance stability, security, and resilience are inherent system characteristics rather than trade‑offs.

“In finance, the challenge is not only speed—it’s maintaining consistently high performance for latency sensitive and mission critical workloads while scaling bandwidth demands. APN addresses this at the physical layer by keeping transmission in the optical domain end to end and reducing conversion overhead, enabling ultra low latency, high bandwidth, and more stable performance for modern financial architectures.”
Steven-So-circle

Steven So

Chief Operating Officer, NTT Com Asia

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Learn more about All-Photonics Network

Empowering financial institutions to thrive in today’s fast-paced digital landscape, with ultra-low latency, high-capacity, and highly reliable network photonics-based connectivity. 

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