The number of people using broadband Internet, such as Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) services, had increased by 30 percent last month from six months ago, but user satisfaction dropped by 14 percent over the same period due to slow connection speeds and dropped connections, according to an Internet usage survey released yesterday.
"While the number of ADSL subscribers rose to 3 million households last month [from 2.3 million last July], user satisfaction dropped to 57 percent from 71 percent," Liu Yu-li (劉幼俐), a professor of communications at National Chengchi University, said at a press conference yesterday.
"Most people think they deserve faster connections and cheaper rates than the services currently offered," Liu said.
Chunghwa Telecom Co (
Chunghwa Telecom controls the "last mile" connections to most households, and they are able to refuse access to competitors.
While the nation's telecom regulator, the Directorate General of Telecommunications, has asked the state-run firm to open up its control over "last mile" connections, the company has not acted to change the situation because of strong opposition from its labor union.
Asked about declining customer satisfaction, a Chunghwa Telecom official said his company launched a promotion to provide customers with 30 percent faster ADSL services at cheaper prices at the beginning of this month.
"Around 800,000 subscribers with 1.5Mb per second service -- which costs NT$1,198 per month -- can upgrade their service to 2.0Mb per second for NT$1,098," said the official, who asked to remain anonymous.
Nevertheless, Chunghwa's monopoly on "last mile" connections has allowed it to easily maintain its dominant position in the ADSL market. The company had 2.4 million ADSL subscribers last year, an increase of 740,000 subscribers from the previous year, the official said, adding that the company hopes to attract 600,000 more ADSL subscribers this year.
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