Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology has once again grabbed international attention after Apple in September introduced a feature allowing iPhone 14 users in the US and Canada to send emergency messages from remote locations through satellites. This comes as Space X’s satellite service, Starlink, plays a key role in providing Internet access in Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion.
In Taiwan, the big-three telecoms have been preparing to launch satellite broadband services. Although Taiwan has relatively good 4G and 5G network coverage, along with an extensive fiber-optic network, some mountainous and remote areas still have spotty Internet service.
More importantly, satellite broadband service is a must-have when considering national security and emergency uses, especially in situations in which base stations are damaged and Internet connections are disrupted. LEO satellites have advantages: They operate 36 times closer to Earth than traditional satellites, requiring less time to send and receive information, which leads to faster broadband service, even in remote areas.
After a prolonged wait, the Ministry of Digital Affairs last week passed regulations to allow satellite broadband services and said it would start accepting applications from Tuesday next week to Dec. 30 for companies to obtain licenses to offer the services on selected frequencies. Given the strict regulations, there is still a long way to go before LEO satellite services are available in Taiwan.
The biggest obstacle is that applicants must be local telecom operators, according to the ministry’s rules. Direct foreign investor ownership is capped at 49 percent, and at 60 percent for a combination of direct and indirect foreign ownership. Chinese investors are prohibited from investing in satellite service providers.
The rules would obviously restrict multinational companies from pursuing satellite broadband in Taiwan, as such firms tend to operate wholly owned local subsidiaries to sell satellite broadband services.
For instance, Elon Musk’s SpaceX in July set up a wholly owned subsidiary in the Philippines and last week launched its Starlink satellite service in collaboration with a local partner. Japan became the first Asian country to deploy satellite-based system services when telecom operator KDDI announced the service last month, opening up the sector to enterprise and government customers.
Chunghwa Telecom last year expressed the desire to offer SpaceX’s Starlink services in Taiwan, but was prevented from taking further action due to a lack of related regulations. The nation’s biggest telecom operator said it constantly exchanges views on technology with SpaceX, but there is a slim chance that it would offer Starlink services in Taiwan this year. The telecom said it was technologically ready to provide the services, but that regulatory hurdles were a major roadblock.
Chunghwa Telecom has worked out a solution without SpaceX. The company is today to announce new satellite broadband services together with GPS device vendor Garmin. It is to use the US-Swiss company’s satellite technology and inReach Mini 2 device to help subscribers — hikers and campers especially — navigate with GPS, send and receive texts, and send emergency messages, when Chunghwa Telecom’s mobile services are not available.
To make LEO services available in Taiwan, the government must balance technological advancement and national security.
In the event of a war with China, Taiwan has some surprisingly tough defenses that could make it as difficult to tackle as a porcupine: A shoreline dotted with swamps, rocks and concrete barriers; conscription for all adult men; highways and airports that are built to double as hardened combat facilities. This porcupine has a soft underbelly, though, and the war in Iran is exposing it: energy. About 39,000 ships dock at Taiwan’s ports each year, more than the 30,000 that transit the Strait of Hormuz. About one-fifth of their inbound tonnage is coal, oil, refined fuels and liquefied natural gas (LNG),
To counter the CCP’s escalating threats, Taiwan must build a national consensus and demonstrate the capability and the will to fight. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) often leans on a seductive mantra to soften its threats, such as “Chinese do not kill Chinese.” The slogan is designed to frame territorial conquest (annexation) as a domestic family matter. A look at the historical ledger reveals a different truth. For the CCP, being labeled “family” has never been a guarantee of safety; it has been the primary prerequisite for state-sanctioned slaughter. From the forced starvation of 150,000 civilians at the Siege of Changchun
The two major opposition parties, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), jointly announced on Tuesday last week that former TPP lawmaker Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) would be their joint candidate for Chiayi mayor, following polling conducted earlier this month. It is the first case of blue-white (KMT-TPP) cooperation in selecting a joint candidate under an agreement signed by their chairpersons last month. KMT and TPP supporters have blamed their 2024 presidential election loss on failing to decide on a joint candidate, which ended in a dramatic breakdown with participants pointing fingers, calling polls unfair, sobbing and walking
In the opening remarks of her meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) framed her visit as a historic occasion. In his own remarks, Xi had also emphasized the history of the relationship between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Where they differed was that Cheng’s account, while flawed by its omissions, at least partially corresponded to reality. The meeting was certainly historic, albeit not in the way that Cheng and Xi were signaling, and not from the perspective
RSS