Global Mobile Corp (
Global Mobile had planned to roll out next-generation WiMAX service in December this year, matching most players' launch schedule, including First International Telecom Corp (
"We will start commercial launch early next year at the earliest," Global Mobile chairwoman and chief executive Rosemary Ho (
Ho said Global Mobile would wait for a more favorable macro environment to launch the service.
The company will unveil its WiMAX service only after three major conditions are met -- more devices to facilitate WiMAX connection, faster speeds to ensure smooth data transmission and lower base station costs.
The National Communications Commission required WiMAX service providers to launch their commercial service within 15 months of obtaining their license in July last year and will only grant a one-year extension.
"The price is the crucial part," said Stephen Tsai (蔡木源), a vice president at Global Mobile. "The base station price is way too high now."
Building a base station would cost approximately NT$2.5 million (US$79,900), Tsai said, adding that NT$1.5 million would be a more reasonable price.
Global Mobile plans to start commercial operations in Taipei City and Taipei County, Tsai said.
To reach the required coverage of 70 percent of the population in the Greater Taipei area, Global Mobile has to build at least 500 base stations, he said.
Overall investment in WiMAX could reach NT$10 billion, with half of the amount tagged for infrastructure development, Ho said.
Semiconductor business between Taiwan and the US is a “win-win” model for both sides given the high level of complementarity, the government said yesterday responding to tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Taiwan is a key link in the global technology supply chain for companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp. Trump said on Monday he plans to impose tariffs on imported chips, pharmaceuticals and steel in an effort to get the producers to make them in the US. “Taiwan and the US semiconductor and other technology industries
SMALL AND EFFICIENT: The Chinese AI app’s initial success has spurred worries in the US that its tech giants’ massive AI spending needs re-evaluation, a market strategist said Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek’s (深度求索) eponymous AI assistant rocketed to the top of Apple Inc’s iPhone download charts, stirring doubts in Silicon Valley about the strength of the US’ technological dominance. The app’s underlying AI model is widely seen as competitive with OpenAI and Meta Platforms Inc’s latest. Its claim that it cost much less to train and develop triggered share moves across Asia’s supply chain. Chinese tech firms linked to DeepSeek, such as Iflytek Co (科大訊飛), surged yesterday, while chipmaking tool makers like Advantest Corp slumped on the potential threat to demand for Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators. US stock
The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a pause in rate cuts on Wednesday, as policymakers look to continue tackling inflation under close and vocal scrutiny from US President Donald Trump. The Fed cut its key lending rate by a full percentage point in the final four months of last year and indicated it would move more cautiously going forward amid an uptick in inflation away from its long-term target of 2 percent. “I think they will do nothing, and I think they should do nothing,” Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis former president Jim Bullard said. “I think the
Cryptocurrencies gave a lukewarm reception to US President Donald Trump’s first policy moves on digital assets, notching small gains after he commissioned a report on regulation and a crypto reserve. Bitcoin has been broadly steady since Trump took office on Monday and was trading at about US$105,000 yesterday as some of the euphoria around a hoped-for revolution in cryptocurrency regulation ebbed. Smaller cryptocurrency ether has likewise had a fairly steady week, although was up 5 percent in the Asia day to US$3,420. Bitcoin had been one of the most spectacular “Trump trades” in financial markets, gaining 50 percent to break above US$100,000 and
RSS