Taiwan Star Telecom Co (台灣之星) yesterday said it is entering a strategic partnership with cable TV operator China Network Systems Co (CNS, 中嘉網路) to expand its reach to household users in preparation to make its 5G services available to a larger customer base.
The collaboration would help complete the convergence of wireless and fixed-line networks, which would be crucial for the companies in offering a range of services from the Internet of Things and smart homes to online payments, the companies said in a statement.
“The alliance helps Taiwan Star improve its 5G blueprint. It also helps the company expand its customer base to household users, a long-term lost piece to its customer portfolio that includes personal and enterprise customers now,” Taiwan Star president Cliff Lai (賴弦五) said in the statement.
In the initial stage, Taiwan Star would offer discounts to CNS subscribers who sign up for mobile services, while Taiwan Star users would pay a smaller bill for broadband and cable TV subscriptions, the companies said.
CNS would have access to richer digital content, helping it fend off growing competition from over-the-top operators, which stream videos over the Internet, the companies said.
As of the end of April, Taiwan Star had 2.2 million 4G users, while CNS, the nation’s biggest cable TV operator, had about 1.6 million subscribers.
The alliance came as the National Communications Commission brought forward the date of a 5G bandwidth auction to the end of this year from the first half of next year.
This means telecom operators would launch commercial 5G services as early as in the first half of next year.
Taiwan Star said it would make every effort to win a slice of the 5G bandwidth in the first-round bidding and it is working with industry partners, including Nokia Oyj, to build a 5G ecosystem.
Taiwan Star last year saw its losses narrow to NT$4.11 billion (US$130.39 million), from NT$6.75 billion the previous year, the company’s annual report showed.
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