Chunghwa Telecom would freeze fixed prices for retail telecom services, despite inflation, as access to broadband is a fundamental human right, the firm said yesterday.
The National Communications Commission (NCC) earlier in the day approved telecom tariff price adjustment coefficients for fixed services this year and next year.
The coefficients for retail and wholesale telecom services were set at 2.15 percent and 7.48 percent respectively.
Photo: Wang Yi-hung, Taipei Times
The percentages — by which telecoms adjust retail and wholesale prices — are determined by subtracting the coefficients from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics’ Consumer Price Index (CPI), which was 2.95 percent last year.
Based on the formula, telecoms are allowed to raise retail prices for broadband Internet services with download speed between 120 megabits per second (Mbps) and 300Mbps by 0.8 percent until March 31 next year, the commission said.
NCC Vice Chairman and spokesman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said that Chunghwa Telecom is the only telecom subject to the price adjustment rules, as it is the only significant market player in the fixed telecom service market.
“In the past, the coefficients were always larger than CPI, which meant that Chunghwa Telecom had to decrease its retail and wholesale prices each year. This would be the first time it is allowed to raise prices,” Wong said.
Asked whether the firm would increase its prices, Wong said that the NCC would not know until it sees proposed price adjustments, which it must approve.
“However, we have reminded companies that they need to take into account consumer interest,” he said.
Industry observers had said that the nation’s largest telecom was unlikely to raise retail prices even though it is entitled to do so due to intensified competition in the broadband service market from cable service operators.
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS