The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that it has approved 5G business plans submitted by Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) and Far Eastone Telecommunications (FET), which both aim to launch 5G services in the third quarter of this year.
The nation’s five telecoms have all paid for bids they placed in the first 5G spectrum auction, which ended last month, with the proceeds totaling NT$142.19 billion (US$4.69 billion), NCC spokesman Hsiao Chi-hung (蕭祈宏) said.
Each telecom is required to submit a business plan for its 5G services, he said.
To conduct a preliminary review of the business plans, the commission said that it has formed an independent committee of 11 experts, whose expertise range from communications technology and consumer protection to accounting and economics.
The results have been submitted to commissioners for a second review, it said.
CHT and FET have indicated in their business plans that they aim to launch 5G services as a non-standalone system, meaning that they are building their 5G networks on the framework of their existing 4G systems, Hsiao said.
They also aim to migrate to all-5G services, or a standalone system, with the time required to reach that stage depending on how fast the technology and market evolve, he said.
Industry observers have forecast that all-5G services would not emerge for three to five years after deployment, he added.
The two telecoms’ business plans show that they aim to develop their services using the 3.5 gigahertz and 28 gigahertz frequency bands; outline their service coverage rate in the next five years; and identify differences between 4G and 5G services fees, as well as data protection measures, the NCC said.
Commissioners are next week scheduled to review the 5G business plan submitted by Taiwan Mobile, which has been asked to supply supplementary information, as it has proposed a partnership with Asia Pacific Telecom, Hsiao said.
The commission has received Taiwan Star’s business plan and is reviewing it, he said.
The telecoms must also submit their plans to ensure information security, which must be approved by the commission before they can secure permits to construct 5G infrastructure, he added.
DISTRUST WARRANTED? The WHO is under China’s control and has become a useless organization, while data from China cannot be trusted, a Control Yuan member said China’s demand that the novel coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, Hubei Province, not be referred to with names like the “Wuhan pneumonia” betrays its lack of confidence in itself, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) told lawmakers yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) asked Su, during a interpellation at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, for his view on China’s attempts to redeem its national image in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. These included China’s efforts to “bleach” its image, including having WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus publicly praise its handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, and thanking it for buying time
TOO TIRED: Investigators found that the pilot’s lack of alertness could be attributed to a lack of sleep the previous night, when he had slept with his child It was a copilot’s inappropriate operation of the aircraft and the pilot’s insufficient alertness that led to a hard landing of a China Airlines cargo flight on Dec. 13, 2018, the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board said yesterday. Flight CI6844, a Boeing 747-409 which departed from Hong Kong International Airport, landed on the pre-threshold area of runway L5 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, about 21m before the head of the runway, an investigation report said. The hard landing damaged three runway lights, but none of the personnel on board sustained any injuries, the report said. When approaching the runway, the copilot failed to maintain
REPEAT OFFENDER: The man went outside for exercise on Wednesday and then left his home on Saturday with his girlfriend, officials said A New Taipei City man has been fined NT$400,000 (US$13,221) and ordered into government quarantine after breaking home quarantine for a second time on Saturday. The 25-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳) returned to Taiwan on Sunday last week and was ordered to home quarantine until Sunday. He was seen leaving his home on a scooter with his girlfriend on Saturday, three days after he was fined NT$200,000 for going outside to exercise, police said. Chen has now been placed in a quarantine center arranged by the district office and health center of the district where he lives, police said. Police warned the public
Taipei residents who stay at hotels in the city during their 14-day mandatory quarantine period are eligible to apply for the city’s NT$7,000 subsidy, with online applications to be launched next week. Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) on Monday said Taipei residents who have COVID-19 Health Declaration and Home Quarantine Notice dated after March 19 and a quarantine hotel receipt for the dates covered by the quarantine period, would be eligible for the subsidy. The Taipei City Government on Sunday told the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) that so many city residents are under home quarantine that about 90 percent of
RSS