The National Communications Commission (NCC) is considering again postponing the implementation of a tiered-pricing scheme for cable operators, as it has not finalized some key support measures related to the policy, the commission said on Tuesday.
“The cable service market would descend into chaos if there are no mechanisms to arbitrate disputes over content authorization fees or to govern the distribution of profits between channel operators and cable operators,” NCC chairman-designate Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) said.
“We hope that these mechanisms are in place first” before the policy is implemented, Chen said.
Chen, whose nomination for NCC chair has been approved by the Legislative Yuan, is to take office next month.
NCC officials said that the commission is unlikely to complete all of the support measures before the end of this year, making it nearly impossible for it to enforce a tiered-pricing policy next year.
The commission was to implement the policy this year after passing pricing standards in June last year.
However, less than a month later, it announced that it would push the implementation to next year, as it lacked a complete set of complementary measures.
Local government officials every August are required to review cable operators’ proposed service fees for the following year, so implementing a tiered-pricing scheme this year would create a tight deadline for operators and officials, the commission said.
Based on the pricing standards the NCC approved last year, each operator must provide at least two basic channel packages.
The first package must have the 13 “must-carry” channels required under the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法), including terrestrial TV stations and Public Television Service, with the price for such packages capped at NT$200 per month.
The other package — which the NCC must approve the year before — would have the most subscribers and generally include more than 100 channels. Those packages are capped at NT$600 per month.
Cable service operators can also offer other packages or allow people to pay for individual channels, the commission said.
“Even though a tiered policy is not in place, all of the major multiple-system operators already offer channel packages following such a principle,” Chen said.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS