Starting in 2011, when a phone call is made from a regular phone to a mobile phone, the charge will be determined by regular phone service operators, rather than by the mobile phone operators, according to a National Communications Commission (NCC) resolution announced yesterday.
The measure, once it takes effect, will help lower call rates by approximately 50 percent.
"The new policy will enable users of regular phones to have less expensive telecommunications service and more selections," NCC spokesman Howard Shyr (
Shyr said the government decided in 1997 to deregulate the telecommunications market. And to help develop mobile phone service in the private sector, the government decided that service operators at the receivers' end are entitled to set the price.
While the national policy has successfully created a booming mobile phone industry, it has decreased the number of regular phone users, Shyr said.
Since the mobile phone industry is now well established, the rate plan needs to be changed, he said.
On average, it now costs between NT$6.2 and NT$6.6 per minute to call from a regular phone to a mobile phone.
The regular phone service operators receive about NT$1 to cover the cost of connections, while the mobile phone service operators receive about NT$5.
While nearly half of the revenue is used to cover the cost, half of it is profit.
Shyr said that over the years the mobile phone service has benefited a great deal from the scheme.
The NCC used Chunghwa Telecom as an example. Last year, the company found that the time spent on calls from regular phones to mobile phones reached 4.95 billion minutes. Multiplied by the average price per minute, the company's revenues should have been more than NT$30 billion (US$909 million).
Shyr said the NCC would require cellphone service operators to reduce their phone charges by a minimum of NT$0.47 per minute annually. Operators with significant market power were given of six years to gradually reduce the price. In other words, the price will decrease from NT$6 to NT$3.78.
For the policy to take effect, the commission must first amend other relevant telecom laws.
Meanwhile, the commission has proposed another draft regulating the delivery of spam, or junk e-mail. The draft gave the public the right to request compensation for the damages caused by illegal spam senders, who could be asked to pay between NT$500 and NT$2,000 for each junk e-mail they send.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS