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.
Intel Corp yesterday said it has placed its first order with ASML Holding NV to purchase the semiconductor industry’s first TWINSCAN EXE: 5200 system, as the US chip giant aims to compete with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in advancing to 2-nanometer process technology. The Dutch semiconductor equipment maker’s TWINSCAN EXE:5200 system is an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) high-volume production system with a high numerical aperture (NA) that can produce 220 wafers per hour, more than the 150 wafers that its previous generation TWINSCAN EXE:5000 system can handle. ASML aims to launch the new system in 2024. ASML president and chief
MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the world’s biggest 5G chip supplier, saw its ranking rise by one notch to No. 7 last year among world semiconductor vendors, as it benefited from the rapid 5G smartphone uptake in China after Huawei Technologies Co (華為) was forced to exit the market, Gartner Inc said in a report yesterday. MediaTek’s revenue soared 58.8 percent to US$17.45 billion last year from US$10.99 billion in 2020, outpacing the global semiconductor industry’s growth of 25 percent, according to Gartner’s tally. That gave MediaTek a 3 percent market share. The Hsinchu-based chip company ranked No. 8 in 2020, behind Texas Instruments
South Korea’s antitrust watchdog yesterday fined 23 domestic and foreign shippers a combined 96.2 billion won (US$80.84 million) for price-fixing, including three Taiwanese container shippers — Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運) and Wan Hai Lines Ltd (萬海航運) — the Central News Agency and Japan’s Nikkei Asia reported. Korea Marine Transport Co and Sinokor Merchant Marine Co instigated the collusion by raising freight rates for routes between South Korea and Southeast Asia, China and Japan, and they were later joined by other foreign and domestic firms, the Korea Fair Trade Commission said, citing the results of an
Citigroup Inc, which has been shedding some of its retail operations as part of a global revamp, is in advanced talks with Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) for a sale of its China consumer business, people familiar with the matter said. Taipei-based Fubon has emerged as the likeliest buyer after outbidding rivals, and the two lenders are negotiating the terms of a potential transaction, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. They are aiming to sign an agreement in the next few weeks and the assets could be valued at about US$1.5 billion, the people said. A
RSS