The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday unveiled 26 emergency communications vehicles to ensure the continuation of communications during disasters.
The fleet was assembled through funding from the budget allocated to the Executive Yuan’s Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program and from telecoms, the commission said.
Building the fleet accounted for only a very small percentage of the Cabinet program’s budget, NCC Chairwoman Nicole Chan (詹婷怡) said, adding that the vehicles would serve as lifelines in disaster zones.
Photo: CNA
Funds from the program have also been used to subsidize telecommunications infrastructure in remote areas or those prone to natural disasters, with subsidies capped at 50 percent, she said.
The subsidies have motivated telecoms to increase their investment in infrastructure in economically disadvantaged areas, Chan said, adding that the commission would ensure that service coverage rate and quality in those areas would be gradually raised as well.
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee had questioned the commission’s low achievement rate during a review of the budget allocated to the NCC in the Cabinet program.
The low rate was due to a misunderstanding on how budget implementation efficiency is calculated, as well as when the commission began to use the budgeted funds, Chan said.
“We have resolved the controversies surrounding the construction of 56 fixed base stations that will ensure communications can continue through coordination with local governments when natural disasters strike,” Chan said. “We are confident that 90 percent of the budget can be used by the end of this year.”
The 26 emergency communications vehicles are to be deployed in regions where fixed base stations cannot be built due to geographical limitations, the commission said, adding that they could meet the demand for communications service in a timely manner.
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