The government and US chip giant Intel Corp signed a collaborative agreement yesterday to turn Taiwan into a key development base for a new technology that delivers high-speed wireless Internet access over long distances.
"Through this collaboration with Intel, Taiwan is moving from a hardware-centric provider to a critical player in establishing an emerging technology standard," Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh (
The new technology -- WiMax -- is an emerging wireless broadband standard that can provide Internet access over radio waves with a range of up to 48km and offers download speeds comparable to broadband connections.
The technology is said to overcome problems in getting high-speed Internet service to remote locations, and would eventually eliminate the need to lay new networks of fiber-optic line.
Under the pact, Intel will provide technical resources to assist the development and deployment of Wimax in Taiwan, and will share the results and experience from related trials abroad with local industry.
According to Ho, the government's goal is to set up 15 WiMax field trials in 10 cities by 2007, and attract a wireless broadband user base of 8 million within five years.
As only a handful of countries have embarked on WiMax trials, this will give Taiwan an edge as a global technology leader, she said.
The government will pump in NT$1.1 billion (US$32.9 million) for the research and development of WiMax components and platforms over the next two years, Minister without Portfolio Lin Ferng-ching (
The project forms a key part of the M-Taiwan (mobile Taiwan) program, a NT$37 billion scheme aimed promoting seamless wireless broadband communication access, he added.
Meanwhile, Intel said that WiMax will be key to helping make the digital home concept a reality in Asia.
The concept refers to connecting consumer electronics devices, home appliances and personal computers in the home through a broadband connection.
"The related technologies are mature now, and broadband is being rapidly deployed in the region," Donald MacDonald, vice president of Intel's digital home group, said during the forum in Taipei.
Intel will use its core competency in semiconductors to work with computer and consumer electronics makers, as well as content and service providers, to offer users an easy-to-use digital home experience at an affordable price point, he added.
"Consumers set the bar and we have to adapt our technologies to meet their needs," he said.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump weighed in on a pressing national issue: The rebranding of a restaurant chain. Last week, Cracker Barrel, a Tennessee company whose nationwide locations lean heavily on a cozy, old-timey aesthetic — “rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table” — announced it was updating its logo. Uncle Herschel, the man who once appeared next to the letters with a barrel, was gone. It sparked ire on the right, with Donald Trump Jr leading a charge against the rebranding: “WTF is wrong with Cracker Barrel?!” Later, Trump Sr weighed
HEADWINDS: Upfront investment is unavoidable in the merger, but cost savings would materialize over time, TS Financial Holding Co president Welch Lin said TS Financial Holding Co (台新新光金控) said it would take about two years before the benefits of its merger with Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控) become evident, as the group prioritizes the consolidation of its major subsidiaries. “The group’s priority is to complete the consolidation of different subsidiaries,” Welch Lin (林維俊), president of the nation’s fourth-largest financial conglomerate by assets, told reporters during its first earnings briefing since the merger took effect on July 24. The asset management units are scheduled to merge in November, followed by life insurance in January next year and securities operations in April, Lin said. Banking integration,
LOOPHOLES: The move is to end a break that was aiding foreign producers without any similar benefit for US manufacturers, the US Department of Commerce said US President Donald Trump’s administration would make it harder for Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc to ship critical equipment to their chipmaking operations in China, dealing a potential blow to the companies’ production in the world’s largest semiconductor market. The US Department of Commerce in a notice published on Friday said that it was revoking waivers for Samsung and SK Hynix to use US technologies in their Chinese operations. The companies had been operating in China under regulations that allow them to import chipmaking equipment without applying for a new license each time. The move would revise what is known
Artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Cambricon Technologies Corp (寒武紀科技) plunged almost 9 percent after warning investors about a doubling in its share price over just a month, a record gain that helped fuel a US$1 trillion Chinese market rally. Cambricon triggered the selloff with a Thursday filing in which it dispelled talk about nonexistent products in the pipeline, reminded investors it labors under US sanctions, and stressed the difficulties of ascending the technology ladder. The Shanghai-listed company’s stock dived by the most since April in early yesterday trading, while the market stood largely unchanged. The litany of warnings underscores growing scrutiny of
RSS