Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), the nation’s largest telecoms operator, yesterday announced it would lower prices for its 4G services in a bid to widen its lead in the highly competitive market.
The company said it plans to charge subscribers as little as NT$988 a month for an unlimited Internet connection, which is 13 percent less than the company’s current lowest tariff of NT$1,136 a month for unlimited data usage.
The new rate plan is to be available from tomorrow to June 30 and only new subscribers are eligible for the plan. The plan carries a two-year service contract.
Smaller rivals Far EasTone Telecommunications Co Ltd (遠傳電信) and Taiwan Star Cellular Corp (台灣之星) yesterday followed suit by lowering their flat rates.
Far EasTone, the nation’s No. 3 telecoms operator, said its new NT$998 4G service package would be available for both new and existing users to get unlimited Internet connectivity, but the new 4G tariff will only be available this month.
Taiwan Star, which ended its monthly 4G flat-rate package of NT$599 last month, yesterday resumed the plan and made it available only during the annual Spring Computer Fair, which begins tomorrow and runs through Monday.
Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) yesterday also said it would offer a new flat price of NT$998 a month, available until the end of June.
Taiwan is one of the few markets around the world that extended flat rates from 3G services to 4G. While flat rates played a crucial role in fueling the rapid growth of 4G subscriptions last year, most 4G service providers have hoped to phase out flat-rate plans to help offset expensive 4G infrastructure costs.
The nation had 3.4 million 4G users by the end of last year, according to National Communications Commission statistics.
Chunghwa Telecom, which has 2 million 4G users, is targeting 3.2 million 4G users this year, or 40 percent of the market, while Far EasTone has set a goal to triple its 4G users to 3 million this year from last year.
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