Global Mobile Corp on Thursday said that the National Communications Commission (NCC) has spent almost two years reviewing its application to upgrade to the 2.1 version of the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) technology, adding the commission should allow the company to renew its license so that service and product suppliers can develop.
Global Mobile chairwoman Rosemary Ho (何薇玲) spoke at the administrative hearing hosted by the commission to help commissioners determine if the company’s license, which expires at the end of this year, could be renewed.
The commission has been reviewing the company’s application for 23 months, Ho said, asking when it would reach a decision.
Regarding the delays in the installation of base stations, Ho said the company had consulted the South Korean manufacturer Samsung, which told them that it would need one year to develop the devices. She said the company then sought to develop the base stations through Taiwanese manufacturers.
Representing Global Mobile, Gemtek Technology president Ting Yuan-tzu (丁原梓) said that an Israeli manufacturer produced WiMAX base stations, but they are not compatible with the company’s core network, which was produced by Samsung.
Ho said the company would like to see its license renewed, even if the ruling came with conditional clauses.
She asked why the government could extend the expiration date for 2G telecommunications licenses until 2017, but cannot extend the expiration date of the WiMAX license, considering that the government has spent more than NT$60 billion (US$1.8 billion) to develop the technology.
“NCC members should know that their decision would affect hundreds of families, including those of the Global Mobile and related product suppliers,” Ho said.
When asked how the company planned to fund itself for the operation if the license is renewed, Ho did not disclose any details, citing non-disclosure agreements that the company had signed with potential investors, adding that the company would prove that it has thye ability to raise funds.
Meanwhile, the commission issued a statement two hours before the start of the hearing, saying that it had followed legal procedures to review Global Mobile’s application to renew its license and that the company does not have the privilege to request an extension of the effectiveness of the operational license.
The commission said that the company was given permission to upgrade to WiMAX 2.1 on March 26 last year, adding that the changes to its business plans were approved on Jan. 7 this year.
Global Mobile was given permission to finish the installation of base stations by September, the commission said, adding that the company then asked to revise its business plans on Jan. 12, March 11 and June 15, which the commission approved on March 18 and July 13.
Between March and September, the company did not import or install any WiMAX 2.1 base stations, the commission said.
Commission statistics showed that Global Mobile had promised to increase the number of base stations from 1,338 in 2010 to 1,809 this year. It has so far only installed 645.
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