Strait-Telecom Co (海峽電信) has been listed by Chunghwa Telecom as a high-risk corporate customer and the two should terminate service contracts if necessary, the National Communications Commission said yesterday.
The mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) on Wednesday was fined NT$300,000 (US$9,604) by the regulator for failing to thoroughly authenticate the identities of service subscribers and consequently allowing scammers to use its mobile phone numbers to commit crimes.
As an MVNO, Strait-Telecom does not own a mobile spectrum license, but uses the Chunghwa Telecom network to offer mobile services under its brand name.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Chunghwa Telecom’s contract with the MVNO stipulates that it allocate 300,000 mobile telephone numbers for Strait-Telecom to use. Of the 120,000 that have been transferred to Strait-Telecom, nearly 1,000 were used by scammers.
The commission launched an investigation into Strait-Telecom’s operations after receiving a tip-off from the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office on June 1.
Local news media criticized the commission for handing a relatively lenient fine to Strait-Telecom, as Taiwan Star Telecom Co on Wednesday was fined NT$1 million after just two of its mobile numbers were exploited by scammers.
The commission said in a statement that it has ordered Chunghwa Telecom to suspend the transfer of the remaining 180,000 mobile phone numbers to Strait-Telecom.
“We have also inspected Strait-Telecom and examined whether it had thoroughly followed the ‘know your customer’ requirements as stated in telecom regulations. Chunghwa Telecom should suspend or terminate the communications of any mobile phone number that is involved in scams,” the commission said, adding that prosecutors are still investigating crimes committed using the numbers.
Taiwan Star is subject to regulation by the Telecommunication Management Act (電信管理法), while the Telecommunications Act (電信法) applies to the case involving Strait-Telecom, the commission said.
Comparing the penalties in these two cases would be meaningless as they are different in terms of severity, applicable laws, as well the fines that can be imposed, the commission said.
“Straits-Telecom was passive in accepting an administrative inspection and failed to provide remedial measures in accordance with the regulations. We have aggravated the sanction and strengthened supervision with some administrative means, but the relevant sanction must still be administered according to the law,” it said.
The commission said that Strait-Telecom’s license expired in May and it is no longer a telecom.
“However, in view of the serious offense, we have asked Chunghwa Telecom to list the company as a high-risk customer and strengthen the audit, random testing and risk control of similar clients,” it said.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
Taiwan’s two cases of hantavirus so far this year are on par with previous years’ case numbers, and the government is coordinating rat extermination work, so there should not be any outbreaks, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said today in an interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper). An increase in rat sightings in Taipei and New Taipei City has raised concerns about the spread of hantavirus, as rats can carry the disease. In January, a man in his 70s who lived in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) tested positive posthumously for hantavirus, Taiwan’s
RSS