The government plans to release 5G telecom licenses in 2020, National Communications Commission (NCC) Chairwoman Nicole Chan (詹婷怡) confirmed yesterday, adding that the Executive Yuan would decide on the frequency bands to be auctioned off by the end of this year.
Chan was asked by lawmakers at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee if the government planned to postpone the auction.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) asked if the commission was being cautious, as it was quoted in a media report as having said that the nation should be “a smart follower of technology.”
Photo: Liu Li-jen, Taipei Times
A lot of people are looking forward to the start of 5G services, because 4G no longer satisfies their demands, DPP Legislator Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) said.
He asked if the commission has estimated the number of licenses that would be issued, as 5G service providers would need more bandwidth.
DPP Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) asked if any of the nation’s five telecoms had requested that the commission delay the auction, as they have yet to recover their costs from the 4G auction and the construction of the 4G system.
Premier William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday said that the government is scheduled to issue 5G licenses in 2020, which is consistent with the commission’s plans, Chan said.
The commission never said that it planned to postpone the auction or hold it early, she said, adding that it aims to have all the frequency bands designated for the auction by the end of this year.
The bandwidth for 5G operators must be at least 80MHz to 100MHz, Chan said, adding that the commission must first ascertain the total number of frequency bands in the high, medium and low frequencies that can be put up for auction before determining the number of licenses that should be released.
No telecoms have indicated that they want the auction be postponed, Chan said.
Even though the 5G licenses would not be released until 2020, the nation’s three big telecoms — Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone Telecommunications — are eager to get ahead of the competition, Chan said.
Chunghwa Telecom was the nation’s first to be able to transmit at speeds fulfilling the 5G specifications laid out by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project, Far EasTone was recently admitted to the 5G Automotive Association, and Taiwan Mobile is already forming partnerships with 50 domestic and international companies and plans to conduct 5G service experiments next year, Chan said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai