NCC unveils WiMAX license shortlist

The National Communications Committee (NCC) released a list yesterday of eight candidates who had qualified for the second round of bidding for Worldwide Inter-operability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) operating licenses.

The successful candidates include Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), Far EasTone Telecom Co (遠傳電信), Taiwan Digital Communication Corp (台信聯合電訊), Vastar Cable TV System Corp (威達有線電視), Global On Corp (創一投資), Tatung Co (大同), First International Telecom Corp (大眾電信) and a joint venture company formed by Vibo Telecom (威寶電信) and Tecom Co (東訊科技). All obtained a passing grade of 75 points in the review.

"We are 100 percent sure we will win a license as we are offering to pay the government more than 10 percent of our revenues from future WiMAX operations," president Charlie Wu (吳清源) told the Taipei Times by telephone.

Yesterday's offer was much higher than the annual floor rate of 1.5 percent set by the NCC. The rate paid for use of the nation's radio spectrum will be the deciding factor in the final round of bidding.

With high-speed WiMAX services, First International Telecom -- the nation's sole short-range PHS operator -- would be able to compete with local mobile operators using third-generation (3G) technology, Wu said.

The eight candidates will bid for six operating licenses on July 26. The bidding rules dictate that three operating licenses be issued to the northern region and three to the south.

Chunghwa, Far EasTone, Taiwan Digital, Tatung and the Vibo-Tecom team have applied for WiMAX licenses in both regions. Vastar has only applied for a license in the south, while Global On and First International only applied for licenses in the north.

Wu said that in the initial stage, the company planned to invest up to NT$4 billion (US$121.5 million) building its WiMAX network in northern Taiwan.

To fund the new business, the company has been in talks with several foreign companies including Intel Corp's venture company Intel Capital.

"We could sell a stake by issuing new shares," Wu said, adding that the company aimed to raise NT$2 billion from the share sale.

Companies that failed to qualify included Won Won Infocomm Co (旺旺電信), Pan Overseas Corp (匯僑), Asia Pacific Broadband Telecom Co (亞太固網), Ubiquitous Mobile Multimedia Inc (寰宇通) and Chunghwa Wideband Best Network Co (中華聯網寬頻).

Won Won protested the result, saying that news the five companies would fail to qualify had been leaked to the industry.

In response, NCC spokesperson Howard Shyr (石世豪) said the commission had followed rigorous screening procedures. He said the five applicants had failed the review mainly because their capacity in technology, finance and customer service had been deemed insufficient to meet future challenges, adding that the five companies had been found to have problems on all factors.

Separately, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) and several environmental protection advocates yesterday urged the NCC to halt the issuance of WiMAX licenses until the Department of Health has completed a health impact evaluation on WiMAX electromagnetic waves.

Tien told a press conference that the issuance should be postponed as the system has met with opposition in Sweden, Germany and in San Francisco.

Taiwan Environmental Protection Union chairwoman Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華), who was also present at the conference, said the union's survey of the indoor radiation rate at 10 districts in Taipei showed that the city was seriously exposed to electromagnetic waves, with Nangang registering 6,030.9 microwatts per square meter and Shilin 3,666.