The nation’s five telecom carriers yesterday competed to secure frequency blocks on the 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) band on the first day of the nation’s first 5G spectrum auction.
The National Communications Commission had said it plans to release 2,790 megahertz (MHz) of bandwidth for 5G services — 270MHz in the 3.5GHz band, 2,500MHz in the 28GHz band and 20MHz in the 1,800MHz band.
The bandwidth is divided into frequency blocks of 10MHz.
The highest bid for the 3.5GHz frequency band topped NT$26.58 billion (US$871.4 million) and NT$206 million for the 28GHz band, while there were no bids for the 1,800MHz band, NCC data showed.
The auction is to resume at 9am today.
The commission has a new method to facilitate the auction, where the telecoms first bid for the number of frequency blocks they need, NCC Acting Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) said.
There are to be 10 rounds of auctioning every day, he said, adding that a mechanism would compel telecoms to bid faster in the 51st and 101st rounds.
After telecoms secure the bandwidth they need, they would negotiate their preferable locations on the frequency band for seven days, Chen said.
Should telecoms fail to agree on the issue, they would enter the next round of auctioning for the bandwidths’ location.
“We hope the auction will end in one to two weeks,” Chen said.
Chen said that the commission had expected telecoms to compete fiercely for the frequency blocks on the 3.5GHz band, based on results of 5G auctions in other nations.
The commission has allocated funds to address the issue of interference that might occur between 3.3GHz and 3.57GHz, as part of the band is used for satellite communications, he said.
Telecoms would have to build more base stations than they did for the 4G system to offer 5G services, Chen said.
“In the initial stage, the number of 5G base stations would not increase too quickly, as telecoms can upgrade 4G base stations to meet demand,” he said.
“Overall, the number of base stations in the 5G era is expected to be three to four times that of the 4G era,” Chen added.
Regarding potential health hazards caused by electromagnetic waves emitted by the stations, Chen said the commission would handle this issue based on international standards, adding that it would work closely with the Environmental Protection Administration on the matter.
“People should not fear using technology as long as the risks are controllable,” Chen said.
As information security would become more important in the 5G era, telecoms should not only submit business plans, but also information security plans to the commission before they start offering the service, he said.
At least three telecoms would secure enough bandwidth to provide 5G services, Chen said.
“I believe that telecoms would set reasonable and competitive prices for 5G service by first consulting the international telecom benchmarks, as well as experiences in other nations,” he added.
Asked whether the commission would limit the funds that would be generated from the auction so as not to raise the operational costs of the telecoms, Chen said that the commission only set a floor price for the auction, adding that it has no way of knowing how high the bids will go.
“I am sure that they would take all factors into consideration when they place the bids,” he said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
RSS