The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that Aerkomm Inc needs to register as a telecom service provider if it wants to provide a low-Earth-orbit satellite service in Taiwan, as well as comply with national laws on applying for a frequency spectrum and managing foreign investors.
The Nevada-based company, which recently announced that it had chosen Taiwan as a research and development and service base in the Asia-Pacific region, filed an application to offer a low-Earth-orbit satellite service in Taiwan — which some call a “6G service.”
The service would transmit data faster than 5G service and greatly facilitate communication for residents of remote areas and frequent air travelers, the company said, adding that the travelers would not need international roaming services when overseas.
While confirming that the commission had received Aerkomm’s application, NCC Vice Chairman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said that the firm should first register as a telecom service provider, as required by the Telecommunication Management Act (電信管理法), which took effect on July 1.
“So far, its business plan is vague, and we are not sure if it needs to secure a landing right for its service here. But if it does, we need to review several factors, including the percentage of its shares owned by foreign investors and whether the frequency spectrum that the company intends to use to build its service network is being used by others or might cause interference on surrounding networks,” Wong said.
The company would have to build satellite ground stations so that the commission could ensure that network operations were not exploited by criminals, and apply to use a frequency spectrum and explain how they would use it to construct their satellite service network,” he said.
A more detailed business plan should be presented to the commissioners, Wong said, adding that the NCC would consider how the service is used in other countries.
“Satellite communications is more common in countries with large territories, where there remain many remote townships not covered by telecom service networks, but in Taiwan, the 4G service coverage rate has reached 95 percent,” he said, adding that the company’s initial plan is to facilitate communication for fisheries.
Wong reiterated that the company needs to comply with national laws regarding securing a frequency spectrum and the management of foreign investors.
The commission would consider whether the company’s use of the frequency spectrum concurs with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ spectrum distribution plan, Wong said.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS