The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday approved the monthly subscription rates for Chunghwa Telecom’s (CHT) soon-to-be launched 1G/600M and 500M/250M broadband service, but added that installation of the new service might be limited by certain restrictions.
CHT’s introduction of 1G high-speed fiber Internet access is widely perceived as a strategic move to solidify its dominant status in the broadband service market due to competition from cable television service providers.
Commission spokesman Yu Hsiao-cheng (虞孝成) said that CHT’s 1G/600M service — with a download speed of 1 gigabits per second and upload speed of 600 megabits per second — is to cost NT$3,599 per month, while the 500M/250M service is to cost NT$2,399.
“The NCC is glad to see that the carrier has advanced to offering this type of high-speed Internet service,” Yu said. “Apart from increasing demand from Internet users to quickly download films, people who work from home or animation artists also need access to high-speed broadband services.”
The availability of 1G high-speed broadband services could facilitate the development of 4K television in the nation, Yu said, adding that Japan is set to launch 4K television next year.
However, CHT has made it clear that it can only provide the new service under certain conditions, Yu said.
People living in a building that already has a CHT-installed fiber Internet network would have no problem switching to the new service, Yu said.
People living in a building equipped with its own fiber Internet network can subscribe to CHT’s service as long as the carrier is allowed to enter the building and set up its service using the existing network, Yu said.
For communities that do not have a fiber Internet network, CHT can install the service if the community’s management board allows the carrier to set up the network using the common duct in the community, he said.
CHT currently offers 100M and 300M services. It now has more than 1 million subscribers to its 100M service.
As of June this year, CHT has about 4.52 million broadband service clients, while cable TV broadband service providers have about 1.25 million subscribers.
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