National Communications Commission (NCC) Chairperson Su Herng (蘇蘅) yesterday denied there had been an intervention by higher authorities in Want Want China Broadband’s purchase of 11 cable TV services owned by China Network Service (CNS), adding that the public will be able to examine all meeting records once the commission has ruled in the case.
The deal sparked controversy after three commissioners — Chen Jeng-chang (陳正倉), Weng Hsiao-ling (翁曉玲) and Chung Chi-hui (鍾起惠) — withdrew from reviewing the case last year.
Want Want China Times has threatened to sue the three commissioners for giving it a difficult time over approving Want Want Group’s purchase of China Times Group in 2009.
Media experts had also urged the commission to turn down the management restructuring application filed by CNS because they were concerned about the issue of concentration of media ownership.
At a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday, several lawmakers questioned the slow progress the commission has made in the case.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) asked Su if she had asked the three commissioners to return and review the case.
Su said that she had, but that the three had refused.
“The National Communications Commission is now a lame duck agency,” Kuan said. “You [Su] should step down and the three should be investigated by the Control Yuan.”
DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said she believed the commission would grant a conditional approval of the Want Want-CNS deal in July.
She said the terms of the three commissioners expire in July and they will be replaced by three new commissioners. The new NCC commissioners, who are scheduled to take office in August, will help pass the deal, Yeh said.
“Because the arrangement was made by higher authorities, the commissioners can only obey,” she said.
Su said the commission is still seeking to clarify several details of the case, adding that the commission will review it based on professional considerations only.
Meanwhile, Su said the commission would consider advertisements for broadband Internet service as part of the terms of service contract, after Chunghwa Telecom was fined NT$5 million (US$169,000) by the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) this week for deceiving consumers with false claims in its advertising.
The nation’s largest telecom operator claimed it provided a 50M (megabits per second) Internet service.
However, the FTC found that the service only provided half the rate it claimed.
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