The number of telecom accounts in Taiwan that have switched to 5G has surpassed 10 million, data from the National Communications Commission (NCC) showed.
As of the end of November last year, the most recent update on 5G usage, 33.7 percent of telecommunications accounts had begun using 5G data, accounting for more than 10 million numbers, the data showed.
In terms of market share of the major telecom players, Chunghwa Telecom had 3.88 million 5G accounts, or 38.8 percent of the total, while Taiwan Mobile had 3.13 million 5G accounts, or a 31.3 percent share, and Far EasTone had 2.99 million 5G accounts, or a 29.9 percent share, the commission said.
Photo: CNA
Commission data showed that the biggest spike in new 5G accounts between January and November last year came in May, when 182,000 new numbers subscribed to the service.
The commission said the spike could have been a result of Taiwan terminating 3G services at the end of June, and the exiting of Singapore’s telecom service, Circles.Life, from Taiwan’s market in July.
The launch of various Apple iPhone 16 smartphone models in September also contributed to boosting 5G adoption between September and November, when an average of 160,000 new subscribers signed up each month, it added.
With the increase of 5G users contributing positively to the average revenue per user for Taiwan’s telecom companies, the average revenue per user in the third quarter of last year was NT$478.7 (US$14.52), a NT$1.5 increase from the previous quarter, commission data showed.
The number of accounts still using the slower 4G in Taiwan continued to decline.
The commission said the number of 4G accounts in Taiwan fell to less than 20 million for the first time in October.
While the amount of 4G numbers fell to about 19.69 million in its latest calculation, it was still nearly double the total of 5G users, the commission added.
In terms of revenue, Taiwan’s telecommunications services generated NT$42.72 billion in the third quarter of last year, NT$210 million more than in the second quarter.
Of that, NT$36.51 billion came from telecommunications accounts under monthly plans, the commission said.
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