The government plans to lower the frequency usage fee for telecoms by adjusting frequency band coefficients to encourage the development of 5G service, the National Communications Commission (NCC) announced.
NCC spokesman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said the commission approved the proposed adjustment to the frequency usage fees at a meeting on Wednesday last week.
The revised coefficients must be made available to the public for two months before they take effect, he added.
Photo: Lo Chien-yi, Taipei Times
During the review period, members of the public are encouraged to comment on the standards, Wong said, adding that the commission would take any comments into consideration before finalizing the changes.
The adjustment was primarily proposed because the nation is to auction off bandwidth to be used for 5G so that the service can be developed by 2020, Wong said.
The commission also adjusted frequency band coefficients, as 5G service uses mostly high-frequency bandwidths, which have different physical properties and coverage ranges from lower-frequency spectrums.
Previously divided into three frequency bands for calculating usages fees, the proposal would divide the spectrum into four frequency bands: below 1GHz, 1GHz to 3GHz, 3GHz to 6GHz and 6GHz and above, with coefficients of 1, 0.75, 0.18 and 0.004 respectively.
The coefficient enables frequency usage fees to be adjusted according to the usability of the the license holder’s frequency band, the commission said.
Revenue from usage fees has gradually increased over the past few years: NT$2.42 billion (US$78.74 million) in 2015, NT$2.76 billion in 2016, NT$3.36 billion last year and NT$3.56 billion this year, NCC statistics showed.
The adjustment is expected to save telecoms an estimated NT$500 million following the fee adjustment, Wong said.
The commission has also adjusted the coverage coefficient to encourage telecoms to build infrastructure in rural areas, because signal coverage in some of the nation’s remote areas and along some of its transportation routes remains low.
The adjusted coefficient would also reduce frequency usage fees for telecoms working to improve signal reception in the tunnels along the North Link and the South Link rail lines, Wong said.
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