The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday decided against renewing the license of WiMAX service provider Global Mobile, marking the end of WiMAX offerings in the nation.
The commission made the decision after an administrative hearing on Thursday last week that lasted almost six hours.
Commission spokesperson Yu Hsiao-cheng (虞孝成) said that Global Mobile’s license renewal application was first reviewed by an ad hoc group, which recommended that the license not be renewed, a recommendation that the commissioners agreed with.
“The group found that the carrier did not follow through on its plan to build service infrastructure over the past six years, nor did it fulfill commitments in its business plan,” Yu said.
The license, if renewed, would have allowed the company to continue operations for another six years after its current license expires on Dec. 10, but the commissioners had doubts about the firm’s ability to continue offering services throughout that span of time, Yu said.
The commission issued an official statement that said Global Mobile’s operations would be officially terminated on Dec. 10
The company is obligated to inform its customers at least one month in advance about the termination of service, the statement said.
The statement added that the commission would follow the same course of action it took when it handled the bankruptcy of First International Telecom Corp (大眾電信), which is to ask all 4G telecom service operators to inherit Global Mobile customers and their telephone numbers.
It also said that it would cooperate with the Ministry of Labor to help Global Mobile employees find new jobs at other telecoms or in different fields of work.
“We ask that Global Mobile, as a Tier I telecom business operator, fulfill its corporate responsibility to society and stop using its employees and customers as tools to fight for its own interests,” the commission said in the statement.
Meanwhile, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) is today scheduled to preside over negotiations on proposed amendments to the three existing broadcasting laws: the Radio and Television Act (廣播電視法); the Cable Television Act (有線電視法); and the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法).
The proposed amendments secured the preliminary approval of the Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee in 2012, but have yet to receive general legislative approval.
Several issues, including the number of must-carry channels included in cable TV services, are considered key to determining whether the amendments will finally be passed.
The Taiwan Solidarity Union has also proposed a cap on the monthly fee for cable TV services to NT$100.
The Satellite Television Broadcasting Association has opposed requiring cable operators to carry all terrestrial TV channels, while the Cable Broadband Institute in Taiwan said that the NT$100 cable fee cap would damage the TV industry, and in turn hurt consumers’ interests.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard