Taiwan needs to draw up a policy, or a strategy, to create a friendly environment for local industries to develop next-generation, or 5G, wireless technology — and the National Communications Commission (NCC) needs to work with the Ministry of Economic Affairs to make it happen. The nation cannot afford another misstep in the next technology migration after mistakenly betting on WiMAX in the battle for 4G dominance.
As a result of the WiMAX wager, Taiwan has lagged far behind most countries in commercializing 4G services and developing related telecom services. In 2007, the commission auctioned six WiMAX licenses. Six years later, it released six long-term evolution (LTE) frequency-division duplex (FDD) licenses after the technology surpassed WiMAX — which was originally backed by US chip giant Intel Corp — and became the mainstream 4G technology. The nation’s big three telecommunications operators only launched 4G services this summer: South Korea and Japan already saw their 4G LTE penetration reach 50 percent and 30 percent respectively last year.
Taiwan is a small home market for local manufacturers. However, the nation will definitely play an important role as a test ground for firms to expand their business overseas. Take Sercomm Corp as an example: The manufacturer of telecommunications equipment — including low-powered radio access nodes, or so-called small cells — said the Taiwanese market only contributes 1 percent to its total revenue.
“However, we need the home market and the infrastructure to support the company’s growth,” Sercomm chief executive James Wang (王煒) said.
Being a test ground, Taiwan has to keep close pace with global telecom trends, which has seen the rise of both LTE FDD and LTE time-division duplex (TDD) technologies. Growing bandwidth demand is spurring a global convergence of these two technologies that is likely to carry into 5G technology. However, the ministry has avoided voicing its support for LTE-TDD technology after the WiMAX fiasco.
As for the NCC, commission Chairman Howard Shyr (石世豪) told reporters last week: “The NCC’s job is to regulate the telecoms industry. You have to ask the economics ministry about telecoms industry policy.”
Minister of Science and Technology Simon Chang (張善政) has also given up pushing the government to invest up to NT$20 billion (US$662 million) in 5G technology over 10 years after his suggestion was turned down while he was Cabinet minister without portfolio.
“We will release the frequency bands [for LTE-TDD technology] when the market needs them,” Shyr said.
That is a vague and irresponsible answer, as consumers are left in the dark as to which technology they will be using to connect to the Internet.
Shyr has said that the commission would release 140MHz bandwidth for LTE-FDD next year and 50MHz bandwidth for LTE-TDD technology in the second half of next year.
Industry insiders warned, however, that the imbalance in the frequency band arrangement would hamper technological convergence.
No bandwidth, no convergence and no 5G business opportunities, the people said.
Five years ago, South Korea, Japan and the US planned ahead for the arrival of 5G and began investing in the new wireless technology to cope with future demand for super-fast Internet connections. Those countries have invested state funds and released frequency bands to foster the development of 5G technology.
Taiwan is already late in developing 5G technology. Government agencies have to join forces on the issue or else the nation will only play a marginal role when the new technology arrives.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
Former minister of culture Lung Ying-tai (龍應台) has long wielded influence through the power of words. Her articles once served as a moral compass for a society in transition. However, as her April 1 guest article in the New York Times, “The Clock Is Ticking for Taiwan,” makes all too clear, even celebrated prose can mislead when romanticism clouds political judgement. Lung crafts a narrative that is less an analysis of Taiwan’s geopolitical reality than an exercise in wistful nostalgia. As political scientists and international relations academics, we believe it is crucial to correct the misconceptions embedded in her article,
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), the leader of the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), caused a national outrage and drew diplomatic condemnation on Tuesday after he arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office dressed in a Nazi uniform. Sung performed a Nazi salute and carried a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf as he arrived to be questioned over allegations of signature forgery in the recall petition. The KMT’s response to the incident has shown a striking lack of contrition and decency. Rather than apologizing and distancing itself from Sung’s actions,
US President Trump weighed into the state of America’s semiconductor manufacturing when he declared, “They [Taiwan] stole it from us. They took it from us, and I don’t blame them. I give them credit.” At a prior White House event President Trump hosted TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), head of the world’s largest and most advanced chip manufacturer, to announce a commitment to invest US$100 billion in America. The president then shifted his previously critical rhetoric on Taiwan and put off tariffs on its chips. Now we learn that the Trump Administration is conducting a “trade investigation” on semiconductors which
RSS