Taiwanese telecoms yesterday said that they would stop selling new smartphones made by Huawei Technologies Co (華為) due to security concerns and uncertainty surrounding Google’s withdrawal of Android and app updates for devices made by the world’s No. 2 smartphone brand.
The announcements came after Japanese telecoms Softbank Corp and KDDI Corp postponed their rollouts of Huawei’s latest mid-range model, the Huawei P30 Lite, which was scheduled to hit stores on Saturday.
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), which is 35 percent owned by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, was the first local telecom to vow not to sell Huawei’s new phones.
“The company will continue selling existing Huawei models, but has decided not to sell Huawei’s new phones at this stage,” Chunghwa Telecom said.
Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大), the nation’s second-largest telecom, followed suit.
“As Huawei’s new mobile phones will not support Google services, the company will stop selling new phones from Huawei,” the company said in a statement.
However, Taiwan Mobile called on the government to offer clear guidance about which smartphones pose a national security threat.
Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信) and Asia Pacific Telecom Co (亞太電信) said that existing Huawei handsets would remain available.
Consumers could still buy Huawei’s other P30-series phones from major telecoms, companies said.
Google has said that it would comply with US President Donald Trump’s order to stop supplying services to Huawei, meaning that current owners of Huawei phones face being cut off from updates of the Android operating system from late August.
New phones would also lose access to popular apps such as YouTube and Chrome.
Separately, Singaporean start-up Circles.Life said that it is to enter Taiwan’s telecom market next month by offering tailored-made mobile services without any contracts.
With the unconventional business model, the latecomer is attempting to subvert existing telecoms’ way of doing business.
Telecoms in Taiwan and around the world subsidize handsets or electronics in exchange for a multiyear service contract with a fixed monthly charge.
In two short videos posted on YouTube last week, Circles.Life called on mobile users to protest against such conventional practices and break down the existing framework, as obscure contracts only provide rigid telecom services and usually carry hidden charges.
Based on Circles.Life’s tally posted on Facebook yesterday, 15,194 people have signed up to support the protest.
The company said that it is to disclose its service packages and tariffs on June 18 when its local branch, Circles Taiwan Pte Ltd (星圓通訊), is to start operations.
Circles.Life has tapped telecom veteran Lin Wei-wen (林偉文) to lead Circles Taiwan, according to the company’s registration with the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The National Communications Commission yesterday confirmed that Circles Taiwan has submitted an application to the commission seeking a license to provide mobile services as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO).
Unlike the nation’s big three telecoms, MVNOs do not have to deploy their own wireless network, but provide voice services and Internet connection on a leased network.
Circles Taiwan is reportedly to team up with Chunghwa Telecom to build its local presence, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News reported.
Chunghwa Telecom did not reply to a request for comment.
HSBC Holdings PLC is deepening its commitment to Taiwan as the economy emerges as one of the bank’s fastest-growing markets globally, driven by an artificial intelligence (AI) investment boom, expanding cross-border trade, and rising wealth creation. “The advantage that Taiwan has is a growth story linked to the semiconductor and broader AI industries, strong underlying corporate performance, and wealth creation,” said Surendra Rosha, HSBC’s co-chief executive for Asia and the Middle East, in an exclusive interview with the Taipei Times on June 2, during this year’s HSBC Taiwan Conference. That combination has helped HSBC cement its position as the most profitable international
Taiwanese firms have increased investment in the Philippines in recent years as Manila’s ties with Washington deepen and global supply chains continue to shift away from China, an expert at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The Philippines had not been among Taiwanese investors’ top choices in Southeast Asia, CIER Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center director Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈) said at a seminar in Taipei. However, Taiwan’s investment in the country has grown significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching US $257 million last year, a high in recent years, she said. Although Taiwan’s total investment in the Philippines still lags
Intel Corp regards Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) as a longstanding partner, as the US chipmaker would continue outsourcing production of advanced chips to TSMC, Intel chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) said yesterday. “I don’t look at people as competitors. I look at the collaboration... Nvidia is also, you know, a good friend,” Tan told a news conference following his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei. “It’s a very trusted partnership for us... We are a big, top customer for them, and we’re going to continue doing that,” he said, referring to TSMC, the world’s largest foundry
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday said it would work with US chipmaker Intel Corp to jointly develop and deploy next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and intelligent computing platforms in a move to capture booming demand for AI computing systems. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康), said in a statement that the partnership would combine its global manufacturing scale, system integration expertise and AI data center deployment capabilities with Intel’s strengths in processor architecture, silicon technologies and software ecosystem. The companies said they plan to work on equipment used in AI data centers, including server racks powered by
RSS