International Internet service provider Sony Network Taiwan Ltd (索尼通訊網路) said yesterday that it is scheduled to absorb 10,000 Net subscribers from a local competitor by the end of November.
"I believe this practice is an efficient way to benefit our market know-how and market share in Taiwan," said Yuichi Ejiri, chief operating officer of Sony Network.
Sony Network is a joint venture between Japan's Sony Communication Network and KG Telecommunications Co Ltd (和信電訊) of Taiwan.
The establishment of the venture, also known as So-net Taiwan, was first announced in April with Sony holding an 85 percent stake.
Entering Taiwan's Internet service market in August, Sony hopes to attract another 100,000 users by March next year.
According to Ejiri, the company currently has approximately 20,000 Net service subscribers and the deal is expected to bring 10,000 new customers into its fold.
Ejiri said Sony would like to align with other Internet service providers in the near future, but stressed "the cooperation should be more than just taking over customers.
"We would like to meet each other's needs and find a win-win situation," Ejiri said.
In addition to increasing market share with the alliance, Sony is also authorized to use the backbone of its partner's network.
Sony said that the network will enable the company to expand its service into other parts of Taiwan.
The local partner, New Silkera Network Corp (
New Silkera began offering Internet service in 1994.
"We have estimated if we want to balance operational costs, 60,000 subscribers is the minimum number that we need," said Ray Tracy (游允毅), chief technology officer of New Silkera.
Meanwhile, a local market watcher said that although Sony's market is expanding, it will be hard for a small-sized Internet service provider to up profits in the current economic climate.
"When a market is in a price war, unless you are the market leader you can't expect to make money from it," said Jack Hsu (徐瑞宏), an analyst at the Market Intelligence Center.
"I prefer to regard it as a long term investment and don't expect to be profitable any earlier than 2003," Ejiri said.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”