Asia Pacific Telecom Co (亞太電信), which was the last domestic telecom to provide 4G services, yesterday said it aims to grab a 10 to 15 percent share of the 4G market next year by offering lower-priced services.
Market researcher International Data Corp (IDC) said the nation’s 4G subscribers are likely to number between 8.4 million and 10 million by the end of next year.
Asia Pacific Telecom yesterday launched a 4G flat-rate package priced at NT$560 (US$17.61) a month, which is the lowest locally available.
The company’s 4G customers can also make free calls and send free messages to users of other telecoms, Asia Pacific Telecom said.
“Although offering free calls and free messages might reduce our income, we believe it will become a trend,” chairman Lu Fang-ming (呂芳銘) said at a news conference.
Lu said 50 percent of the company’s 4G subscribers are long-term clients who migrated from 3G subscriptions, adding that he hopes the company can maintain that percentage going forward.
Next year, the company aims to spend a total of NT$6 billion on capital expenditure, mainly on improving network coverage, Lu said.
Asia Pacific Telecom’s broadband service covers six major municipalities, while it relies on the nation’s No. 2 telecom, Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大), to provide the service elsewhere, Lu said.
The chairman said that by the end of next year, the company intends to extend its coverage nationwide.
After Asia Pacific Telecom acquires Ambit Microsystems Corp (國碁電子), the company plans to participate in bidding for the 2.6 gigahertz frequency band, Lu said.
Hon Hai Group (鴻海集團), which owns Asia Pacific Telecom, has high hopes for upcoming 5G services, Lu said, adding that the group has a team of 60 to 70 people researching the potential service.
The group will expand the team to 200 people next year, Lu said.
Lu added that the group is to generate new products for 5G services in 2016 or 2017, and he expects 5G technology to be ready in 2018.
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