Digital broadcasting is unlikely by 2006 to achieve the 85-percent market penetration that the government has said it will, according to Gary Tsai (
CNS launched its digital service in Keelung City last June and has introduced interactive TV in Taipei County and Taoyuan County. Despite years of effort, CNS has amassed only 10,000 digital subscribers.
CNS, along with two other digital-TV operators -- Eastern Multimedia Co (EMC,
Because the formats of the set-top boxes vary according to digital TV carrier, Tsai said the company had suggested that subscribers rent the boxes for a price that would also cover the basic channels provided by the company.
"I don't know why on earth we are required to set a price for selling the boxes since we don't want to sell them at all," he said.
However, the city government has held firm on the requirement in the name of the public interest.
The government has also cited stipulations in the Telecommunications Law (
The dispute is going to the city government's Cable TV Fee Review Committee after CNS filed a petition with the Government Information Office (GIO).
The bickering over the problem mirrors problems with the development of digital TV nationwide.
Carriers are having a difficult time attracting content providers because Taiwan is a small market. This in turn has caused complaints among subscribers, who have said digital TV does not provide any major advantages over cable broadcasting, Tsai said.
A survey conducted in August last year by the Keelung City Government showed that 199 out of 200 subscribers polled were disappointed with the channels they were paying for.
In addition to providing basic cable channels and a tier of pay-per-view programs, digital TV allows viewers to access information on weather, travel and stocks, and also allows them to shop, e-mail and browse the Internet using an ordinary remote control.
Tsai said that CNS plans to add more interactive functions such as personal banking access and stock trades in its service.
"But without a large customer base, we have no cash to provide these brilliant services," Tsai said.
David Dea, president and chief operating officer of TBC, says his company suffers from the same problem.
"If the Taipei City Government does not change its position on the subject, Taipei City will become a digital desert compared to other Asian countries including China, which has a faster rate of digital TV growth," Dea said.
Tsai said that he is not pessimistic across the board about the future of digital TV in the nation, saying that because the public and industry groups have been raising issues with the government, the progress of bringing digital TV into homes of Taipei residents will be faster in the second half of the year.
Tsai said the GIO may seek to resolve some issues through administrative decrees, and eventually the legislature may rewrite the laws that govern the broadcasting industry.
"To prevent Taiwan from lagging behind the rest of the world, a set of supporting measures is needed ? and we need to do this as fast as we can," Tsai said.
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
HEIGHTENED CONCERNS: A survey by National Central University showed that consumer concerns are linked to uncertainty caused by the war in Iran Taiwan’s consumer confidence declined this month as escalating tensions in the Middle East weighed on sentiment and heightened concerns over inflation and economic risks, a survey released yesterday by National Central University (NCU) said. The consumer confidence index dropped 4.28 points from the previous month to 62.3, the lowest level in three years and two months, the survey showed. All six sub-indicators dropped, including expectations for prices, household finances, the domestic economic outlook, employment opportunities, stock investment interest and purchases of durable goods. The retreat in sentiment reflects growing uncertainty linked to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has raised
RSS