Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信), the nation's third-biggest mobile operator, yesterday announced its foray into the local broadband market to broaden its sources of revenue.
The company launched "FET Big Broadband" (遠傳大寬頻) yesterday, a move putting it in direct competition with the broadband market leader, Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信).
"Within the next two years, we will have a 1 million subscriber base," Far EasTone president Jan Nilsson told reporters yesterday.
By the end of June, larger rival Chunghwa's broadband had 4.16 million subscribers, including 1 million households using high-speed options of 8 megabytes per second or faster.
The launch reflects the company's strategy of working with the government to achieve a "no strings attached" Internet environment for users, Nilsson said.
Big Broadband service offers users a wireless broadband router riding on the 3.5 generation network.
Big Broadband charges a user NT$695 (US$21) per month, offering free domestic calls for the first 10 minutes.
One of the company's selling points is its partnership with affiliate Q-WARE Communications (
When Big Broadband subscribers step outside their homes, they can access Wifly with a 50 percent discount, costing NT$199 a month.
Wifly currently has more than 4,000 hotspots, or wireless areas, located at fast food and beverage chains such as Burger King, MOS Burger, QK Coffee and Starbucks, as well as at MRT stations.
Far EasTone claimed the rate for its Big Broadband and Wifly package was 45 percent cheaper than subscribing to Chunghwa for broadband and a fixed line.
The mobile carrier has also set its sights on motorists and plans to introduce a portable navigation device in October. The device incorporates global positioning system capabilities with communication, movie and TV viewing functions.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS