Chunghwa Telecom Co (CHT, 中華電信) yesterday said it successfully bid on one block of the 1,800 megahertz (MHz) frequency band and four blocks of the 2,100MHz frequency band for a combined total of NT$10.93 billion (US$362.26 million), in an effort to provide a better 4G service to customers.
“We are very satisfied with the bidding result. This will allow us to offer better mobile Internet service to out customers,” CHT chairman David Cheng (鄭優) said at the company’s headquarters in Taipei.
The National Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday released six blocks on the 1,800MHz frequency band and 24 blocks of the 2,100MHz frequency band for bidding.
Each block consists of 5MHz of bandwidth, with a total of 150MHz bandwidth up for auction.
Five major telecoms: CHT, Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信), Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大), Asia Pacific Telecom Co (亞太電信) and Taiwan Star Telecom Co (台灣之星) participated in the auction.
In addition to its existing frequency blocks on the 900MHz, 1,800MHz, and 2,100MHz frequency bands, CHT now has 180MHz bandwidth, far exceeding its domestic competitors, Cheng said, adding that 4G customers would soon notice the increase in Internet connection speeds.
CHT was the only bidder that acquired the bandwidth on the 1800MHz frequency band, it said.
Far EasTone acquired three blocks on the 2,100MHz frequency band for NT$6.51 billion, and Taiwan Mobile bid four blocks on the 2,100MHz frequency band for NT$8.6 billion, while Taiwan Star spent NT$2.21 billion for one block on the 2,100MHz frequency band.
However, Asia Pacific Telecom has decided to drop bids for the 1800MHz and 2100MHz frequency bands, as the company said its current 75MHz bandwidth is sufficient to provide smooth service to its consumers.
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