Taiwan’s plan to issue licenses for the delivery of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite services is a major strategic move for the country and would create great business opportunities for relevant industries, analysts said.
For example, if Taiwan’s underground and undersea fiber optics were damaged during a war, LEO satellites, which normally operate below an altitude of 2,000km, could be a powerful tool for the military, Digitimes research analyst Ashley Huang (黃雅芝) said in a telephone interview.
There is evidence of the value of LEO satellites in wartime, for example Ukraine’s effective use of LEO data in the war against Russia, Huang said.
Photo courtesy of the National Space Organization
In addition to the satellites’ strategic value to a nation, they also have the potential to boost the satellite phone market, which would generate new business opportunities under Taiwan’s plan to issue LEO satellite licenses to domestic telecoms, Huang said.
Universal Microwave Technology Inc (昇達科技), a leading Taiwanese supplier of millimeter-wave passive components to international space companies, said it is eager to see the launch of the LEO satellite business in Taiwan, as it is aiming to venture into the satellite component market.
If the government decides to accept license applications from global LEO satellite service providers, major companies such as Space Exploration Technologies Corp, Telesat Corp, OneWeb Ltd and Amazon.com Inc are likely to apply, Universal Microwave Technology said.
Meanwhile, two Taiwan-based companies have expressed interest in the emerging LEO communications market: Auden Techno Corp (耀登科技), a supplier of wireless local-area network antenna and radio frequency technology products, and Accton Technology Corp (智邦科技), a leading provider of networking solutions.
The National Communications Commission in March approved draft rules for the appropriation and assignment of radio frequency bands for satellite communications, paving the way for license applications from telecoms to provide LEO satellite services.
To be eligible to obtain such licenses, telecoms must be registered in Taiwan and managed by Taiwanese, the commission said.
However, foreign operators can form partnerships with Taiwanese companies to apply for the licenses, it said.
Market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said in a report released last year that LEO satellites’ signal coverage is not constrained by geographical features, such as mountains, oceans and deserts, which means they can synergize with 5G mobile communications to reach areas that lack 5G coverage.
In the global satellite market, LEO satellites also have the greatest developmental potential, given their proximity to Earth and their relatively lower latency, radiation and cost compared with high Earth orbit and medium Earth orbit satellites, TrendForce said.
It forecast that the global satellite industry would generate revenue of US$295 billion this year, an annual increase of 3.3 percent.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
RSS