The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday approved mergers between Taiwan Mobile and Taiwan Star, and between Far EasTone Telecommunications and Asia Pacific Telecom (APT) after a nearly one-year review, provided Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone dispose of excess bandwidth acquired through the mergers by the end of June next year.
The mergers still have to be approved by the Fair Trade Commission, the NCC said.
Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone must also complete administrative procedures at the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the Securities and Futures Bureau and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, it added.
Following its merger with Taiwan Star, Taiwan Mobile would own 60 megahertz (MHz) of bandwidth at frequency bands below 1 gigahertz (GHz), which exceeds one-third — or 50MHz — of the total auctioned spectrum of 150MHz.
Regulations require the telecom to dispose of the extra 10MHz of bandwidth.
Following its merger with APT, Far EasTone would accumulate excess bandwidth of 13MHz at frequency bands below 3GHz, excess of 3MHz between the 3GHz and 6GHz bands, and excess of 160MHz at bands above 24GHz, the NCC said.
Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone can voluntarily return the excess bandwidth to the government, or transfer it to or exchange it with telecoms that are not its subsidiaries, associates and business partners, the commission said.
Telecoms that fail to dispose of excess bandwidth and use it illegally may fined between NT$500,000 and NT$5 million (US$16,484 to US$164,837), the NCC said.
Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone have agreed to the other conditions set by the commission for the mergers, NCC Deputy Chairman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said.
By 2027, the two telecoms must raise their 4G coverage rate to 99 percent and 5G coverage rate to 98 percent, Wong said, adding that their 5G coverage rate in rural areas must be raised to 95 percent.
Both are committed to spending a total of NT$60 billion over the next four years to build network infrastructure using the increased bandwidth, he said.
Far EasTone would receive 2.07 million APT service subscribers through the merger, while Taiwan Mobile would receive 2.69 million Taiwan Star service subscribers, Wong said.
“Far EasTone and Taiwan Mobile have pledged that existing APT and Taiwan Star subscribers can continue accessing telecom services based on contracts they signed with their respective carriers until Dec. 31 next year. Changing SIM cards will not be necessary,” Wong said.
“Taiwan Star in 2019 offered some customers unlimited 4G services for only NT$199 per month, which is valid throughout their lives. They will continue to access the 4G services at the low monthly fee until the 4G license expires in 2033,” he said.
Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone must offer services to Taiwan Star and APT subscribers indiscriminately, Wong said.
“They must continue providing diverse service plans to subscribers, particularly users who are economically disadvantaged, physically challenged or from medium to low-income families,” he said.
The two telecoms must strive to minimize the digital divide by installing more base stations in rural areas, Wong said.
“We also hope that Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone can be more transparent in terms of their median sales prices and pricing strategies to help draw more service providers into the market,” he said. “They should expand the vertical applications of 5G by using the technology to build private networks for corporations.”
The two telecoms are committed to saving a total of 1.6 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually following the mergers, and spending NT$3.2 billion on digital inclusion projects over the next four years, Wong said.
Taiwan Mobile said that the commission’s ruling is “regrettable,” as it cannot possibly integrate networks with Taiwan Star in 18 months.
“This shows that current regulations cannot address challenges in the new era after the mergers of telecoms. We will let our board of directors decide what to do next,” the telecom said.
Far EasTone thanked NCC commissioners for approving its merger with APT.
“We respect the NCC’s ruling, and will submit an application for a merger with the Fair Trade Commission,” Far EasTone said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
RSS