Telecommunications operators urged regulators at a public hearing organized by the National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday to lift controls on retail rates for fixed network and mobile communication.
“The price ceiling set on retail communications will put new telecoms carriers at a disadvantage when competing with market heavyweights,” Taiwan Telecommunication Industry Development Association (TTIDA) spokesperson Liu Li-chau (劉莉秋) said. “We hope that the NCC can just regulate the termination charge, not the retail sales price as well.”
The termination charge occurs when the originator of a telephone call pays the full charge for the call. The network from which the call originates is then charged by the network on which the call terminates. The charge generally covers network connection fees or rental fees for electric circuits and is regulated in Europe and other nations that ask the calling party to pay the full connection cost.
Chunghwa Telecom (CHT,中華電信) representative Chiu Rui-shu (邱瑞旭) said the NCC should consider the long-term development of the telecommunications industry before regulating pricing policy.
“The market that the telecoms carriers share at the moment is not going to get any bigger,” Chiu said. “Aside from our old competitors, we also face competition from newcomers, such as operators offering Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) or cable television service providers. And even though our annual revenue has not fluctuated much in recent years, the actual profits that each carrier earns are dropping.”
Chiu said the nation is able to offer fast Internet services and achieve such a high network coverage rate because telecoms companies were able to spend money and resources developing new communications technology. The lower revenue will only hinder research and development, he said.
The NCC hosted the hearing because it is planning to set a new price adjustment cap for telecoms carriers in the Type I, which includes CHT, Taiwan Mobile (台灣大), Far Eastone Telecom (遠傳電信), Vibo Telecom (威寶電信) and First International Telecom (大眾電信).
Jinwen University of Science and Technology professor Chuang Chuen-fa (莊春發) said in the hearing that telecoms carriers have seen their revenues dwindle year after year.
The Fair Trade Commission’s (FTC) ongoing review of Grab Holdings Ltd’s US$600 million acquisition of Foodpanda Taiwan’s operations, announced on March 23, has taken on fresh urgency as industry experts warn that the transaction could embed significant Chinese cybersecurity vulnerabilities into Taiwan’s digital infrastructure through Grab’s deep ties to autonomous-driving firm WeRide (文遠知行). Less than 16 months after the FTC blocked Uber Eats’ direct attempt to acquire Foodpanda Taiwan — citing potential combined market shares of 80 to 90 percent — the emergence of Grab as the buyer has prompted questions about whether the same competitive harm is simply being rerouted
POWER BUILDUP: Powered by Nvidia’s B200 Blackwell chips, the data center would support MediaTek’s computing power demand and business growth, the company said Smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) data center with a maximum capacity of 45 megawatts to meet its rising demand for computing power required to develop new advanced chips for AI applications. The company has completed the first-phase computing power buildup at the data center in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), providing 15 megawatts of capacity to support its research and development (R&D) capabilities, despite an industrywide shortage of key components, MediaTek said. Supply constraints have plagued a wide range of key components, including memory chips, solid-state drives, power supply units and central
IMAGE SENSORS: The Japanese company would be the controlling shareholder of the venture, with development and production lines to be set up in Kumamoto Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp to create a joint venture to develop and produce next-generation images sensors. The partnership seeks to explore and address emerging opportunities in physical artificial intelligence (AI) applications, such as automotive and robotics, paving the way for innovations and expanded technological advancements, TSMC said in a statement. Sony would be the majority and controlling shareholder of the joint venture, the statement said, adding that the company would set up development and production lines in its newly constructed fab in Kumamoto Prefecture’s
The nation’s foreign exchange reserves climbed back above US$600 billion at the end of last month, as investment gains, currency valuation effects and renewed foreign inflows offset volatility seen earlier in the month, the central bank said yesterday. Reserves stood at US$602.49 billion, up US$5.6 billion from the previous month, the central bank said. The rebound reflected returns on reserve assets, fluctuations in major currencies against the US dollar and the central bank’s market operations aimed at maintaining orderly trading conditions, Department of Foreign Exchange Director-General Eugene Tsai (蔡炯民) said. Financial markets were volatile early last month, with foreign investors recording net purchases
RSS