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.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
RSS