A National Communications Commission (NCC) proposal to appropriate about NT$15.5 billion (US$544.41 million) from funds allocated for the Executive Yuan’s Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program to subsidize telecoms building 5G infrastructure faced strong objections from opposition parties at a plenary session at the legislature in Taipei yesterday.
A proposal by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to slash the subsidy for telecoms was rejected, with that amount included in the infrastructure budget.
New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) said that the funding for 5G construction was unnecessary.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The NCC would have a better chance of securing lawmakers’ approval if it were to submits rules governing the use of the funding, Chen said.
Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) questioned the rationale of subsidizing 5G infrastructure, which is owned by telecoms.
The program’s funds should be used for government-owned infrastructure, Jang said.
The commission defended its proposal in a statement issued on Monday evening, saying that the funding would help telecoms accelerate construction of cell stations for the 5G system.
Countries worldwide are competing for progress in 5G and domestic infrastructure would be critical to maintaining the nation’s competitiveness in the digital era amid a reshuffling of the global industrial chain, it said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has listed 5G technology development as one of the nation’s six core strategic industries, so it has allocated additional funding to accelerate the construction of 5G infrastructure, the commission said.
Previously, telecoms had planned to build about 16,000 5G cell stations in five years, but with funding from the infrastructure program, they would be able to build 39,000 stations within two-and-a-half years, it said.
Likewise, the 5G signal coverage rate would be raised from 50 percent in five years to 85 percent in two-and-a-half years, it said.
The action plan for 5G development, which was approved by the Executive Yuan in 2019, authorizes the commission to offer telecoms incentives to accelerate construction, particularly in strategic locations and economically disadvantaged areas, the commission said.
The commission said that it would urge telecoms to prioritize 5G infrastructure at major transport hubs and industrial areas, which would lay a foundation for value-added applications using the 5G system.
“The budget we proposed would encourage telecoms to purchase more Taiwan-made telecom products for the construction of a 5G system,” the commission said, adding that such products only account for 40 percent of extant infrastructure.
A national team could be formed to tackle information security issues raised by development through partnerships of domestic and international manufacturers, it said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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