The National Communications Commission (NCC) is soon to announce which telecoms are eligible to bid in a 4G spectrum auction, following interviews yesterday between the commission’s review committee members and telecom company executives.
The interviews were held as part of preparations for the third auction of 4G spectrum access, which is to be held at the end of this month.
Asia-Pacific Telecom chairman Lu Fang-ming (呂芳銘), Taiwan Mobile Co chairman Daniel Tsai (蔡明忠), Taiwan Star chairman Ringo Chao (趙國帥), Far EasTone Telecommunications chairman Douglas Hsu (徐旭東) and Chunghwa Telecom chairman Cheng Yu (鄭優) attended the event.
Asia-Pacific Telecom is targeting spectrum that has not been used by other telecoms, Lu said after the event, adding that the company needs to secure either the 1,800 megahertz (MHz) or 2,100MHz frequencies.
Asia-Pacific Telecom wants to acquire a bandwidth of at least 10MHz at the auction, he said.
Having deployed more than 10,000 base stations, Lu said that the company would focus on small cells to raise its service coverage, adding that it is a way for new telecoms to compete with larger carriers that dominate the market.
The government requires telecoms participating in the auction to improve their 4G capabilities in remote areas as part of the government’s commitment to uphold people’s right to access digital services, Lu said.
Asia-Pacific Telecom would aim to achieve such a policy goal, he added.
However, telecoms should be allowed to jointly build base stations and share frequencies and networks, Lu said, adding that infrastructure construction costs could be spared to develop new applications, such as the Internet of Things.
Hsu said that Far EasTone Telecommunications is still considering the bandwidth that it aims to get through the auction, adding that 4G service is a maturing market.
The frequencies that Far EasTone Telecommunications wins at auction would be used to develop new applications and innovative services, which should help increase revenue, Hsu said.
Securing more bandwidth would not only help Chunghwa Telecom serve its 3G and 4G subscribers, but would also enable the company to develop 5G services, Cheng said.
As mobile communications service revenue has been declining, the company has to find new sources of revenue and increase investment in infrastructure to maintain its service quality, Cheng said.
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