The National Communications Commission (NCC) is planning to amend the Broadcasting and Television Act (廣播電視法), which would require the commission to issue operational licenses for radio and television through a panel review or public bidding.
The Broadcasting and Television act regulates the operation of the terrestrial television and radio services. NCC acting spokesperson Hsieh Chin-nan (謝進男) said the current Act only authorizes authorities to review applications from radio and television service providers and decide on their approval.
“We added the new clause in article 10 of the Act because the Control Yuan said in 2002 that the way we had been issuing operational licenses for radios and television was flawed,” Hsieh said.
He added the commission would stipulate separate regulations on how the auction and bidding should be carried out.
Kao Fu-yao (高福堯), director of the NCC’s legal department, said that currently, operators have to renew their licenses every six years but that the NCC is considering extending that time.
Hsieh added the NCC is planning to amend Article 45 that authorizes it to penalize radio and television stations that have only obtained construction permits but start operating without securing an operational licenses.
The article will also set stronger penalties for illegal radio stations, he said, adding that the government would confiscate equipment and issue fines of between NT$10,000 and NT$50,000. Registered owners of illegal radio stations could face up to two years in prison or penalties of between NT$1 million and NT$5 million, he said.
The amendment will be used to govern the distribution of new radio operational licenses with its exact wording expected to be finalized next week.
The NCC also said yesterday that it would soon establish minimum signal processing speeds for different Internet services as a way to resolve disputes between consumers and service providers.
Hsieh said factors influencing the processing speeds of Internet services vary.
“When four people share the bandwidth, the processing speed will not be the same as that when you have 10 people using the bandwidth,” Hsieh said.
He said the NCC would strive to establish reasonable minimum processing speeds for different types of Internet services so that customers could use them as a reference when evaluating the quality of the service they subscribe to.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is