National Communications Commission (NCC) spokesperson Chen Jeng-chang (陳正倉) yesterday condemned the Taiwan Telecommunication Industry Development Association (TTIDA) for saying the commission had misled consumers.
At a press conference on Monday the TTIDA said the NCC had not communicated with telecoms providers before formulating a policy to reduce rates. It also said providers were prepared to be fined by the NCC for disobeying the policy.
Chen dismissed the TTIDA’s statements by presenting a timeline chronicling how the policy was formulated showing that the commission tried to gather feedback from telecom providers between Nov. 5 and Nov. 19.
On Nov. 13, seven NCC commissioners met representatives of the three main telecommunication industry service providers — Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信), Taiwan Mobile Co (台哥大) and Far Eastern Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信) — to talk about setting new adjustment coefficients for services.
“At that meeting [with service providers], they proposed submitting plans to reward consumers. We told them that we would not force them to accept the new coefficients if we accepted their plans. And if we did not accept their plans, we would stipulate new adjustment coefficients. Their plans, however, were not accepted.” Chen said.
He said the commission also held a hearing on Dec. 8 that was attended by legislators and second-tier telecom carriers.
Telecoms providers will face more than just penalties if they fail to comply with the policy, he said.
“Based on Article 62 of the Telecommunication Act (電信法), punitive measures include suspending or partially suspending operations and even annulling operational licenses,” Chen said
The NCC also disclosed the revenues and net profits of the three major telecom carriers dating back to 1999. The total net profits in 2008 were approximately NT$70 billion (US$2.2 billion).
Chen said the NCC is gearing toward regulating wholesale rates rather than retail rates, adding that providers could appeal the case to the Executive Yuan.
“We respect the opinions of telecom providers,” he said. “What we don’t appreciate is that the association used twisted facts to mislead consumers.”
TTIDA spokesperson Liu Li‑chau (劉莉秋) said yesterday that association members would turn in their new service plans as scheduled, adding they also sought to communicate with NCC officials.
“We want to ask if it is one-way or two-way communication,” Liu said.
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