The nation’s top three telecom operators, which paid a combined NT$122.07 billion (US$4.02 billion) for access to the 5G spectrum in auctions that ended last week, are racing to launch 5G services by the third quarter.
Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) on Tuesday paid NT$58.37 billion for the 5G spectrum it won during the auctions.
The nation’s biggest telecom company secured 90 megahertz (MHz) of the 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band, the optimal bandwidth for 5G services, as well as 600MHz in the 28GHz frequency band.
The companies are required to pay for the 5G spectrum they won within one month of the final round of auctions on Saturday last week.
Chunghwa Telecom also submitted its 5G business plan and related documents to the National Communications Commission (NCC) for review, with aiming to roll out its 5G services in July.
Once approved, Chunghwa Telecom can submit its 5G network deployment plan, which details its 5G equipment suppliers and base station locations.
The company said that it has ordered NT$7.39 billion of 5G equipment from Nokia Solutions & Networks Oy and Ericsson AB.
Far EasTone Telecommunications Co Ltd (遠傳電信) on Wednesday paid NT$43.04 billion for its auction bids and submitted its 5G plan to the NCC, it said.
The company plans to order 5G equipment by the end of the month, as it targets the third quarter to roll out 5G services.
Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大) on Thursday paid NT$30.66 billion to the NCC for its 60MHz bandwidth on the 3.5GHz frequency band, it said in a statement.
After receiving NCC approval, it plans to install 5G base stations to offer better coverage, ultra-high-speed Internet connections and low-latency broadband services, it said.
Separately, Taiwan Mobile on Thursday said it acquired the exclusive rights to distribute online games developed by US-based League of Legends developer Riot Games in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.
Taiwan Mobile would distribute Riot Games’ digital card game Legends of Runeterra on PCs and mobile phones at the end of April.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last