The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday approved proposed guidelines on its tiered-pricing plan for cable operators, which would remove the NT$600 cap on monthly cable service fees, with the final fee subject to review by the commission or local governments.
The commission drafted the guidelines following the passage of amendments to the Cable Television Act (有線廣播電視法) in December last year by the legislature, which instructed the commission to draft within six months a plan on how it would introduce a tiered-pricing model for cable service fees.
Prior to its decision yesterday, the commission had drafted five different service plans, with three of them capping the service charge at NT$500 to NT$600 per month.
Among these three plans, cable service providers must include one package containing all the basic channels for a maximum of NT$200 per month and at least three other basic packages priced between NT$100 and NT$130 each.
However, the two other plans other two plans removed the NT$600 cap on the monthly subscription fee.
One of them allows subscribers to choose a la carte pricing, in which they can choose and pay for the channels they want to watch in addition to the must-carry channels.
The other option not only lifts the monthly fee cap, but also gives cable operators flexibility to deliver various service packages.
Chi Hsiao-cheng (紀效正), deputy director of the commission’s planning department, said the commission chose the last option as it would give cable operators more flexibility in devising various service packages.
Apart from removing the cable fee cap, which has been in effect for more than 20 years, the new scheme would also give cable operators the choice of charging fess by household or by the number of set-top boxes (a device used to access digital content) installed in each household.
Currently, each household pays a flat fee of NT$500 to NT$550 per month for cable service access, regardless of the number of set-top boxes installed in the house.
Should cable operators decide to charge monthly fees by the number of set-top boxes installed, Chi said subscribers should be given bigger discounts with the increase in the number of devices installed.
Amid concern that removing the service fee cap would give cable operators unrestricted freedom to raise fees as they see fit, Chi said the commission has facilitated competition in the market by allowing cable operators to offer their services in more than one service area.
Subscribers can easily switch to a different cable operator if they are not content with the one they have now, he said.
In addition to the peer competition, cable operators face competition from over-the-top (OTT) content providers in Taiwan and in other countries, he said, adding that it is unlikely that they would offer service fees that exceed the amount currently set by cable operators.
Chi added that local governments would be authorized to review cable service charges proposed by cable operators annually.
The NCC can take over in cities or counties that do not have a committee to handle the task, he said.
For areas that only have a single cable operator, “we would suggest that the local government ask the operator to offer a lower service fee, as people have no other choices,” he said.
The commission would periodically release key statistics for local governments to consider when they review rates proposed by cable operators, including the number of cable service subscribers and service areas nationwide, as well as service fees in other countries.
The commission plans to post the guidelines online for public viewing within one week.
After gathering public opinions on the proposal, the commission would review them and submit its final plan to the legislature for approval, in hopes of implementing the new policy by next year.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it