Basic infrastructure equipment produced abroad must be approved by the National Security Bureau and other agencies before it can be imported to be used by the nation’s telecoms and broadcast service operators, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said yesterday.
The announcement, which came after the bureau last year banned the use of mobile phones produced by China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為) by government agencies, was widely viewed as a measure to further restrict the use of devices made in China due to national security concerns.
NCC spokesman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said that the legislature’s Transportation Committee in 2013 passed a resolution banning telecoms from using Chinese-made products in their key infrastructure.
Before the commission released the licenses for 4G technology that year, it amended the Regulations for Administration of Mobile Broadband Businesses (行動寬頻業務管理規則), the Regulations for Administration on Fixed Network Telecommunications Business (固定通信業務管理規則) and the Regulations for Administration of the Third Generation Mobile Communications Business (第三代行動通信業務管理規則) to authorize the commission to reject telecom system construction plans in light of security regulations, he said.
The commission yesterday added similar clauses to seven other regulations governing telecoms and broadcasting services, Wong said.
Asked the types of devices that would be subject to the restrictions, Wong said that they include telecoms’ core networks, communication devices, and base stations and transmitters used by TV or radio stations.
The amendments would soon be available for public viewing, and the commission would gather feedback from telecoms and broadcasters before submitting them to the bureau, Wong said.
The bureau would then make a list of forbidden equipment, which the NCC would follow, he said.
In other developments, the commission said it would further expand its evaluation of mobile telecommunication services this year by measuring the speed of Internet service accessed by mobile users in post offices, police stations, railway stations and department stores.
The commission last year measured the mobile Internet speed in 7,851 locations nationwide, Wong said, adding that it would gather speed data from 10,381 locations this year.
This year’s evaluation would also examine mobile Internet speeds during peak and off-peak hours in MRT stations in Taipei and Kaohsiung, as well as the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Access MRT, Wong said.
In so doing, the commission would gauge if 4G networks built by the five telecoms can handle the increase in users’ demand for access within a short period, he said.
The commission would also examine the percentage of each telecom’s use of carrier aggregation, a technology that combines two or more carriers into one data channel to enhance data capacity, Wong said, adding that the indicator would motivate telecoms to enhance transmission quality in crowded areas, and on railways and highways.
CALL FOR PEACE: Czech President Petr Pavel raised concerns about China’s military maneuvers in the Taiwan Strait and its ‘unfriendly action’ in the South China Sea The leaders of three diplomatic allies — Guatemala, Paraguay and Palau — on Tuesday voiced support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN on the first day of the UN General Debate in New York. In his address during the 78th UN General Assembly, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr urged the UN and all parties involved in cross-strait issues to exercise restraint and seek a peaceful resolution. “The well-being and prosperity of nations and their economies are intrinsically linked to global peace and stability,” he said. He also thanked partner nations such as Taiwan, Australia, Japan and the US for providing assistance
CROSS-STRAIT CONCERNS: At the same US Congress hearing, Mira Resnick said a US government shutdown could affect weapons sales and licenses to allies such as Taiwan A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be a “monster risk” for Beijing and likely to fail, while a military invasion would be extremely difficult, senior Pentagon officials told the US Congress on Tuesday. Growing worries of a conflict come as China has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan, holding large-scale war games simulating a blockade on the nation, while conducting near-daily warplane incursions and sending Chinese vessels around its waters. US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner said a blockade would be “a monster risk for the PRC [People’s Republic of China].” “It would likely not succeed, and it
‘HARASSMENT’: A record 103 Chinese warplanes were detected in 24 hours, posing severe challenges to security in the Taiwan Strait and the region, the ministry said Taiwan yesterday told China to stop its “destructive unilateral actions” after more than 100 Chinese warplanes and nine navy ships were detected in areas around the nation. The Ministry of National Defense (MND) described the number of warplanes detected in 24 hours as a “recent high,” while Beijing has so far refrained from issuing any official comment on the sorties. “Between the morning of September 17th to 18th, the Ministry of National Defense had detected a total of 103 Chinese aircraft, which was a recent high and has posed severe challenges to the security across the Taiwan Strait and in the region,”
China would be making “a grave strategic mistake” if it tried to attack Taiwan, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley said in an interview with CNN that aired on Sunday. Asked by host Fareed Zakaria whether the US could repel a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, Milley said: “It is entirely possible.” Milley reiterated that the US still maintains the Taiwan Relations Act, and that it wants “a peaceful outcome between Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China, and whatever that is between those two peoples.” “Militarily, I think China would make a grave strategic mistake if they attempted to
RSS