National Communications Commission (NCC) Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) yesterday said he hoped that telecoms could set 5G monthly service fees at below NT$1,400 when the service is launched later this year.
Chen made at the statement in a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Transportation Committee, where he was scheduled to brief lawmakers on 5G developments in the country.
The commission concluded the nation’s first 5G spectrum auction on Feb. 21, with total bids in the auction’s first and second phases topping NT$142.19 billion (US$4.75 billion), the third highest in the world after Italy and Germany.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Taiwan has joined nearly 40 countries around the world in releasing spectrum for the development of 5G services, Chen said, adding that telecoms are focused on launching 5G services in the third quarter.
The service is expected to create 510,000 jobs and US$134 billion in value by 2035.
Lawmakers have expressed concern that 5G monthly fees might be exorbitant after telecoms paid so much money to secure spectrums.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-tse (李昆澤) said that the bids in the nation’s first 5G auction were higher than that in South Korea by NT$$43.05 billion.
South Korean telecoms charge consumers a basic 5G service fee of NT$1,444 per month for limited data, he said, adding that fees for unlimited data could go as high as NT$2,101.
Taiwanese consumers would find the prices unacceptable, Lee said.
Service fees could run even higher as the construction costs for 5G are much higher than that for 4G, Lee said.
Moreover, telecoms have to maintain and build 4G and 5G systems simultaneously for 10 years, which could further push up costs, he said.
A 5G license is valid for 20 years, but with the speed of technology advancements, 6G could arrive in five to 10 years, and telecoms might find it difficult to recover their investments in 5G, independent Legislator Chao Cheng-yu (趙正宇) said.
Trying to allay their concerns, Chen said that 5G fees in Taiwan would not be as high as those in South Korea, where a 5G license is valid for only five years.
In the initial stage, Taiwan’s 5G service would cost about the same as 4G service when it was launched, he said.
Taiwan Mobile Co has announced that it plans to offer an early-bird price of NT$1,399 per month for 5G service, he said.
Competition should gradually lead to price declines, he said.
Aside from revenue from mobile communications service, telecoms can earn additional revenue from applications developed through 5G technology, such as artificial intelligence, Internet of Things and self-driving vehicles, he said.
About NT$60 billion of the 5G auction bids would be used to construct base stations in the nation’s remote areas, encourage the development of innovative applications and subsidize economically disadvantaged consumers, he said.
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