The National Communications Commission (NCC) on Sunday said it had nullified a July ruling allowing Global Mobile (全球一動) to upgrade its system after the WiMAX operator failed to meet the conditions stated in the ruling.
The telecom’s application to be permitted to upgrade its system was approved at the end of last year, the commission said.
The system upgrade necessitated a change of business plan, and in July the commission gave its conditional approval to the company’s revised business plan.
To receive final approval, the carrier must meet three conditions — complete construction of 2,159 base stations, secure operating licenses for these stations and obtain certifications for their specifications — based on the time line stated in its business plan.
Both the base stations and customer premises equipment must also comply with national regulations on electromagnetic waves.
The company was also asked to make public the changes to the service information to protect the interest of consumers, the commission said, adding that all the conditions had to be met by Sept. 30.
However, the commission found that the company did not import any new base stations between July and Sept. 30 and failed to secure licenses for their operation.
Moreover, the company had secured permits to install seven base stations only, the commission added.
The company said on Aug. 31 and on Sept. 1 that its base station suppliers would be able to fulfill only part of its order by Dec. 15, meaning it would not be able to meet the commission’s deadline.
The commission said that Global Mobile should have made a professional evaluation before submitting its revised business plan.
“The company used insufficient supply of base stations as an excuse not to fulfill the conditions, which showed that the carrier disregarded its responsibility and betrayed the trust of consumers,” the commission said.
With the nullification of the commission’s July ruling, Global Mobile must follow the business plan aproved by the commission prior to the July ruling to be able to renew its license before the end of this year.
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