A total of 158 applicants are vying for the 15 radio licenses that the National Communications Commission (NCC) is issuing this year.
The commission plans to release five FM licenses for regional radio services and nine FM licenses for community radio services, as well as one AM radio community service license.
From Feb. 9 to May 9, the commission received 165 applications from interested parties, it said in a statement.
A group of media experts, civic group representatives and NCC officials reviewed the applications, and 158 applications advanced to the second phase of bidding, it said.
Applicants for regional radio licenses will have to join a public tender and bid for the licenses, while licenses for community radio services are to be decided by drawing lots, it said.
The commission had long been urged to release new radio licenses to resolve the problem of underground radio stations, but the proposed number of radio licenses to be released was reduced from 36 in 2016 to 15 this year.
“It is our expectation that interested applicants can revisit the needs of listeners in different locations and strive to introduce new services to better serve them. This would greatly maximize the use of the radio frequency, help preserve local cultures and languages, balance regional development and find more efficient ways to issue alerts during emergency situations,” the commission said.
There are currently 171 radio stations, NCC data showed.
Aside from regional and community radio licenses, the commission was planning to release national broadcasting licenses using the frequency taken back from the Broadcasting Corp of China.
However, it later assigned the frequency to the Council of Indigenous Peoples and the Hakka Affairs Council to launch Aboriginal and Hakka-language stations, it said.
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
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
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