The competition among the nation’s telecom carriers in the area of digital convergence is intensifying, as Asia-Pacific Telecom (APT) yesterday announced that it has submitted an application to the National Communications Commission for a transfer of ownership in Taiwan Broadband Communications (TBC) after it purchased the cable provider from the Australia-based Macquarie Group.
APT had earlier merged with another telecom company, Ambit Microsystems, a subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry.
APT chairman Lu Fang-ming (呂芳銘) said that he has signed a sales and purchase agreement with Macquarie’s Singapore branch to acquire its Asia Pay Television Trust (APTT), which is a fund listed in Singapore and owns 100 percent of TBC.
Lu said that he purchased APTT by himself, with 80 percent of funding coming from his personal account and 20 percent from Hon Hai chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘).
The acquisition is part of Hon Hai’s strategy to develop digital convergence services, from content production, data and cloud management to network transmission, Lu said.
“We want to create smart services for families, offices and factories, and have APT provide 4G telecom services, but we also need the ‘last mile,’ the fixed network that brings the service to end users. Access to the last mile is crucial to our development of smart services,” he said.
Lu said that Hon Hai has received investment from government funds, adding that regulations ban any company with government funding from directly investing in cable TV systems, which resulted in him using his personal funds to buy APTT in accordance with the requirements listed in government regulations.
The company has the ambition to overtake Japan, South Korea and the US to become a leader in digital convergence services, Lu said, adding that the integration of cable and telecom services is common in developed nations.
APT cannot afford to lose its competitive edge in the market, he said, given that three major telecom carriers own cable or Internet protocol TV services.
Chunghwa Telecom operates the Multimedia on Demand service and Taiwan Mobile owns cable provider Kbro, while Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) indirectly invests in China Network Systems (CNS), another multiple-service operator.
In other developments, FET chairman Douglas Hsu (徐旭東) spoke for the first time on the FET-CNS deal, which has yet to receive approval from the Investment Commission.
“I looked at in the most natural way possible. It would be good if [the application] is processed faster. If not, you just have to be patient,” Hsu said.
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and the New Power Party have asked the Investment Commission not to approve the case before May 20 when president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文)takes office.
Hsu said that the owner of CNS has been wanting to sell the systems they own for at least four years and he is not the only company interested in buying CNS, adding that people should not make a fuss about it.
Taiwan is considered by many nations to be a place worth investing in, Hsu said, adding that the nation’s laws and regulations should be made clear to everyone.
“If people follow the regulations, but are told at the last minute that the regulations have been changed, nobody would invest in Taiwan anymore,” Hsu said.
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