Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), Taiwan's largest telecom operator, yesterday said it plans to lower rates for mobile-phone services during holidays to boost revenue from voice calls.
The state-run phone company plans to allow post-paid mobile users to make free calls to friends or families with Chunghwa Telecom cell numbers during holidays, the company said in a report prepared for the legislature's Technology and Information Committee.
Chunghwa Telecom mobile users currently enjoy a 50 percent cut in charges on calls made during holidays over the phone company's mobile network.
In the report, the company said it had already sent the tariff proposal to the telecom regulator, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, for review and that it expected to get the government's green light within two weeks.
Additionally, Chunghwa Telecom said that it had slashed charges by up to 47 percent for users of its Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) broadband services on April 1.
Subscribers using 256K/64K ADSL enjoyed the biggest price reduction. Monthly fees for those customers slid to NT$349, from NT$659 previously. Subscribers using speedier 2M/512K saw charges fall by 7 percent to NT$1,398 per month, from the previous NT$1,298.
Chunghwa Telecom also offered other preferential rates, with much smaller reductions.
Chunghwa Telecom currently has about 8 million mobile users and 3 million ADSL subscribers.
The transportation ministry remains the firm's biggest shareholder, with a 65 percent stake. The ministry plans to sell a 17 percent stake in the firm by June.
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