Chunghwa Telecom is on track to launch 5G services in the third quarter of this year after the National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday approved its information security plan.
To offer 5G services, a telecom must submit a business plan and an information security plan, which must be approved by the telecommunications authority.
Chunghwa Telecom’s business plan was approved last week by the commission. It is the only telecom to have secured approval for both its 5G business and information security plans.
With the approvals, it can start preparing to launch 5G services.
The telecom’s information security plan was approved after it provided additional information on how it plans to gauge risks; enforce measures to safeguard and control information security; install infrastructure to protect information security; and detect potential threats within a specific time frame, as well as protect users’ personal data when implementing such measures, the commission said, adding that it would inspect the company’s 5G services based on these items.
Taiwan Mobile’s business plan has also been approved, the NCC said, but added that because the telecom had previously leased its 4G network to Asia Pacific Telecom without first seeking its permission — which resulted in each firm being fined NT$16.5 million (US$544,411 at the current exchange rate) — the approval came with several conditions.
Taiwan Mobile is required to focus on its capacity to handle consumer complaints in the initial stage of offering 5G services, the NCC said.
If it plans to share its core network with other telecoms, it should first file an application to change its business plan based on telecommunications regulations, the commission said, adding that subscribers using the same 5G network must be treated equally and must be clearly informed about the partnership in the user agreement.
If Taiwan Mobile wants to share its spectrum with other carriers, it must also file an application in advance, which has to be approved by the commission, it said.
The company is obligated to increase its network capacity if it proves inadequate to serve all subscribers, the commission added.
Taiwan Mobile has indicated that it would continue its partnership with Asia Pacific Telecom, which dropped out of the bidding for 5G spectrum in the 3.5 gigahertz frequency band, NCC spokesman Hsiao Chi-hung (蕭祈宏) said, adding that Taiwan Mobile’s information security plan was still under review.
Far EasTone Telecommunication’s business plan was approved last week, but it was asked to provide more information for its information security plan before a review could continue.
Asia Pacific Telecom and Taiwan Star have yet to secure approvals for their business and information security plans.
Separately yesterday, Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) vice chairman Arthur Ting (丁廣鋐) told the NCC that the TV network has not held a board meeting in eight months, adding that he does not have any information about the network’s financial status or personnel changes.
Ting, who holds a 35 percent stake in the network, made the remarks in an interview with the agency’s commissioners, who are reviewing the network’s application for management change.
The agency quoted Ting as saying that he had recommended against TVBS chairman Chen Wen-chi (陳文琦) also assuming the position of president.
The network has two news channels, so it would be better to hire a professional as president, Ting was quoted as saying.
Ting also reportedly said that he agreed with the commission’s proposal that the network stipulate ethical guidelines for its newsroom.
Following the interview, the commission said it has asked TVBS to address three issues in written statements before it continues reviewing the management change application.
The network’s management came under public scrutiny because Chen, who is also chairman of VIA Technologies and is married to HTC founder Cher Wang (王雪紅), does not have experience managing a media organization.
The network was also asked to explain why it removed an interview with American Institute in Taiwan Chairman James Moriarty from its Web site after broadcasting it just once on cable TV before local elections in November 2018.
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: A US Air Force KC-135 tanker came less than 1,000 feet of an EVA plane and was warned off by a Taipei air traffic controller, a report said A US aerial refueling aircraft came very close to an EVA Airways jet in the airspace over southern Taiwan, a military aviation news Web site said. A report published by Alert 5 on Tuesday said that automatic dependent surveillance–broadcast (ADS-B) data captured by planfinder.net on Wednesday last week showed a US Air Force KC-135 tanker “coming less than 1,000 feet [305m] vertically with EVA Air flight BR225 as both aircraft crossed path south of Taiwan” that morning. The report included an audio recording of a female controller from the Taipei air traffic control center telling the unidentified aircraft that it was
A US aircraft carrier group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt has entered the South China Sea to promote “freedom of the seas,” the US military said yesterday, as tensions between China and Taiwan raise concerns in Washington. US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that the strike group entered the South China Sea on Saturday, the same day Taiwan reported a large incursion of Chinese bombers and fighter jets into its air defense identification zone near the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). The US military said the carrier strike group was in the South China Sea, a large part of which
STRATEGIC MISTAKE: Beijing’s deployment of aircraft near Taiwan proves the ‘China threat theory’ that sees it attempting to destabilize the region, an analyst said China on Saturday and yesterday sent a record number of military aircraft into the nation’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ), in what analysts said was an attempt to flex its military might for US President Joe Biden. Thirteen Chinese warplanes flew into Taiwan’s southwestern ADIZ on Saturday and 15 entered yesterday, the highest number observed in a single day this year, the Ministry of National Defense said. On Saturday, eight Xian H-6K bombers, four Shenyang J-16 fighters and a Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, entered the ADIZ, while yesterday there were two Y-8s, two Su-30s, four J-16s, six J-10 fighters and a Y-8 reconnaissance
DISPOSING MYTHS: A new constitution would better reflect reality, as the current one was drafted ‘in and for China,’ without the consent of Taiwanese, advocates said Independence advocates yesterday launched the Taiwan New Constitution Alliance to promote drafting a new, localized constitution. “This is a historic moment for Taiwan. Drafting a new constitution is the most important task Taiwanese face,” veteran independence advocate Koo Kwang-ming (辜寬敏) said at the inaugural event in Taipei. “Although the Democratic Progressive Party is in power, its authority is based on the Republic of China [ROC] Constitution, which has no connection to Taiwan,” said the 95-year-old Koo, a former presidential adviser. “The historic task of drafting a new constitution depends on efforts by all Taiwanese,” Koo said. “A constitution for a sovereign, independent Taiwan
RSS