The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucuses reached a consensus on Wednesday that the National Communications Commission (NCC) should seek to “understand” if Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) has violated the Telecommunications Act (電信法) in its treatment of bandwidth users after the New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) filed a complaint earlier this month.
Founded by Falun Gong members, NTDTV applied to renew a lease for the satellite service, which expires in August.
However, CHT turned down the application on the grounds it will switch to a new satellite in August and will not have sufficient bandwidth to provide quality service.
NTDTV said the CHT’s decision was politically motivated because the latter is planning to expand its operations in China, where Falun Gong is banned. The consensus also stated that the NCC should report the results of their investigation to the legislative Transportation Committee.
NCC spokesperson Chen Jeng-chang (陳正倉) reiterated on Wednesday that CHT and NTDTV should sort out the dispute through business negotiations. Unless CHT has discriminated against its users, it is inappropriate for the NCC to step into negotiations between the two parties at this moment, Chen said.
“CHT has shown its willingness to settle the dispute and has tried to find additional bandwidth for NTDTV to use,” Chen said. “NTDTV should not insist on which satellite it sends the signal from. The bottom line is that the audience can see its programs clearly.”
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