Following Chunghwa Telecom's cut in the price of its asymmetrical digital signal line (ADSL) services, the Cabinet yesterday said that it planned to spend more than NT$30 billion over the next five years to reduce the price of telecommunications by creating more competition and building more broadband infrastructure.
Minister without Portfolio Tsai Ching-yen (
Tsai told the Taipei Times yesterday that the five-year budget would be spent on three major areas: construction of more "last-mile" connections; expanding regional wireless networks and creating a "dual network" system.
Yu made the request following Chunghwa Telecom's announcement on Tuesday that it would cut the prices of its 2 megabyte (MB) and 1MB ADSL service by 26.5 percent on June 1.
The current monthly charge for the 2MB/128K service is NT$1,198. Under the new rates, the charge would be NT$880 a month.
Chunghwa Telecom, which has 80 percent market share in the ADSL market, has more than 1 million 2MB subscribers and 1.5 million 1MB subscribers.
Describing the state-controlled enterprise's price cut and possible fee reduction for its text messaging service as the first step in the nation's reform of the digital and telecommunication industries, Yu spelled out the two guidelines for the government's future policy for the two industries.
In addition to offering lower prices and higher quality for digital and telecommunication services, Yu said, the government was duty-bound to create a fairer competitive environment in the two industries and to upgrade their competitive edge.
According to Tsai, the NT$37 billion, five-year plan is included in the five-year, NT$500 billion (US$15.15 billion) public construction package still awaiting the legislature's approval.
The budget would include NT$30 billion for the construction of more "last-mile" connections to people's homes, NT$6.3 billion to expand regional wireless networks and the remaining NT$700 million for the "dual network" project.
Even if consumers want to use another company as their Internet service provider, they usually need Chunghwa Telecom to install the connection in their homes, allowing the state-run company to offer better deals on connections combined with Internet services.
Chunghwa Telecom controls 97 percent of the nation's "last-mile" network, while three local fixed network companies jointly share the remaining 3 percent.
As well as raising the pressure on Chunghwa Telecom to lease more "last-mile" network to local fixed-network providers, the Cabinet plans to let local governments construct more of the network and then lease it to fixed-network and cable providers.
The "dual network" program, which allows regular mobile-phone users to get access to Internet services such as e-mail and viewing motion pictures in the areas covered by the regional wireless network system, are expected to be available in September.
Currently there are eight points in metropolitan areas covered by the "dual network" system.
They include near the National Museum of History, near a nature reserve in Kuantu, near the Shihsanhang Museum in Pali, near an ocean museum in Hengchen Peninsula and another near a flower growing zone in Chunghua County.
The Cabinet hopes to expand the coverage area to 10, plus 25 special zones such as the Hsinchu industrial park.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai