People in Taiwan can access 5G services at relatively cheap rates compared with other advanced countries, National Communications Commission (NCC) Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) yesterday told lawmakers at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee.
Although Chen was there to brief lawmakers about the commission’s budget plan for the next fiscal year, they asked him mostly about his meeting with telecom executives on Thursday last week, where he was expected to convey legislators’ expectations that telecoms would boost the 5G penetration rate nationwide by lowering monthly fees.
Four of Taiwan’s five large telecoms charge NT$1,399 per month for an unlimited data plan, while Taiwan Star charges NT$999 per month, Chen said, adding that a variety of data plans are available.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
Taiwan does not have significant market players in 4G or 5G markets, and as such telecoms can sell these plans without having to secure NCC approval for the rates, Chen said.
“When one takes into account people’s buying power and other factors, Taiwan’s 5G service rates might not be the lowest, but they are relatively cheap when compared with other advanced countries,” he said, adding that the commission would continue to urge telecoms to offer more promotional plans so that more people would be motivated to migrate from 4G to 5G.
One of the telecom executives at last week’s meeting, who preferred to stay anonymous, said that an unlimited data plan in a 5G system costs NT$2,225 per month in South Korea, NT$1,729 in Japan and NT$1,959 in the US.
South Korea’s 5G penetration rate is about 25 percent after the services were launched two years ago, whereas Taiwan’s 5G penetration rate reached 13 percent last month after services were launched in June last year, she said.
Although the cost of building a 5G system in Taiwan is about three to four times higher than that for a 4G system, subscribers are paying NT$1,399 per month, the same as for 4G services when they were launched in 2014, she said.
However, 5G subscribers are given more minutes for extranet phone calls and more subsidies for 5G smartphone purchases, she said, adding that people in Taiwan pay a fair price for top-rated 5G services.
Meanwhile, Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Andy Chiu (邱臣遠) yesterday accused the NCC of wasting nearly NT$7 million to create a Facebook page that has generated very few views.
The NCC last year recruited a public relations firm to launch an educational campaign on Facebook regarding the safety of electromagnetic waves, Chiu said.
Instead of posting content created by the commission itself, the NCC’s Facebook page merely reposted 50 articles from the Internet, and some of the articles were not even “liked” by any viewers, Chiu said.
Chen defended the spending for the awareness campaign, saying that people are debating the safety of electromagnetic waves.
Social media is a good place to share accurate information regarding electromagnetic waves, he said, although he added that content published on the page does have room for improvement.
The public relations firm also hosted 20 meetings in various localities as part of the campaign, he said.
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
RSS