The 5G service coverage rate is expected to reach 80 percent by 2024, National Communications Commission (NCC) Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) said in a briefing to the legislature’s Transportation Committee in Taipei yesterday.
The committee was scheduled to review the commission’s budget plan for fiscal 2021.
Chen told lawmakers that the government received a total of NT$142.19 billion (US$4.92 billion) in February through a two-phase auction that it held for telecom carriers to bid for 5G spectrum, adding that the three major telecoms — Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone Telecommunications — started offering the service in June.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Of the funds that the government obtained through the auction, NT$26.65 billion would be allocated to subsidize telecom carriers in building base stations for five years.
The rules governing the appropriation of subsidies to carriers would be publicly disclosed by the end of this year, Chen said.
“We are still discussing how the subsidies should be distributed among carriers,” he said. “Some have suggested that the amount of subsidy that each carrier receives should be determined by where they build the cell stations — in rural or urban areas. Others have suggested that we appropriate the funds based on the bids they paid.”
Part of the subsidies would help telecom carriers build 490 base stations in five years in remote townships, he said.
The 5G service coverage rate is at about 26 percent now, and the subsidies can help reinforce telecoms infrastructure in both urban and rural areas and accelerate the developments of applications using 5G systems, he added.
The commission also estimated that the nation’s 5G service coverage rate would reach 80 percent based on the speed at which carriers are expanding their base station infrastructure.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
RSS