National Communications Commission (NCC) Chairperson Su Herng (蘇蘅) yesterday said the problems plaguing Chunghwa Telecom’s services should be solved through an amendment to the Telecommunications Act (電信法), which would help the commision execute “asymmetrical regulations” for all telecoms carriers to make sure no one has an unfair advantage.
Su’s remarks came after -Minister-without-Portfolio Simon Chang (張善政) said on Wednesday that about 30 percent of Chunghwa Telecom shares are owned by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and that the firm should not risk the wrath of 90 percent of the population for the sake of a 5 percent to 10 percent increase in revenue.
Su said asymmetrical regulations do not target specific carriers, but rather ensure that every carrier can compete fairly in the market.
Chunghwa came under fire recently when several of its customers complained about high monthly fees for mobile and fixed-line services, while having to put up with slow Internet connection speeds.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said that while users experienced slow Internet connection speeds, the commission was even slower in addressing the issue.
Despite being a private enterprise, Chunghwa Telecom owns networks built using taxpayers’ money, she said.
“Chunghwa owns such a huge amount of assets and it can sell some of them to other fixed network companies,” Lo said. “While it offers the second-most expensive service in the world [sic], the speed of its Internet connection is 30th globally.”
Lo called on the commission to quickly establish standards to test the transmission speeds of the firm’s Internet service.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said the commission should announce the results of its large-scale testing on Internet speeds, adding that carriers should be asked to reduce service fees if they cannot deliver the expected service quality.
Su said the amendment would require that Chunghwa share the use of its network with other telecoms carriers, which would remove the historical advantage it has held.
Before the amendment is passed in the legislature, Su said consumers should be fully informed about the extent of services, adding that carriers must not make exaggerated claims about their services.
They must also charge reasonable fees and speed up the installation of new infrastructure, she said.
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