The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday approved mergers between Taiwan Mobile and Taiwan Star, and between Far EasTone Telecommunications and Asia Pacific Telecom (APT) after a nearly one-year review, provided Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone dispose of excess bandwidth acquired through the mergers by the end of June next year.
The mergers still have to be approved by the Fair Trade Commission, the NCC said.
Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone must also complete administrative procedures at the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the Securities and Futures Bureau and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, it added.
Following its merger with Taiwan Star, Taiwan Mobile would own 60 megahertz (MHz) of bandwidth at frequency bands below 1 gigahertz (GHz), which exceeds one-third — or 50MHz — of the total auctioned spectrum of 150MHz.
Regulations require the telecom to dispose of the extra 10MHz of bandwidth.
Following its merger with APT, Far EasTone would accumulate excess bandwidth of 13MHz at frequency bands below 3GHz, excess of 3MHz between the 3GHz and 6GHz bands, and excess of 160MHz at bands above 24GHz, the NCC said.
Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone can voluntarily return the excess bandwidth to the government, or transfer it to or exchange it with telecoms that are not its subsidiaries, associates and business partners, the commission said.
Telecoms that fail to dispose of excess bandwidth and use it illegally may fined between NT$500,000 and NT$5 million (US$16,484 to US$164,837), the NCC said.
Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone have agreed to the other conditions set by the commission for the mergers, NCC Deputy Chairman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said.
By 2027, the two telecoms must raise their 4G coverage rate to 99 percent and 5G coverage rate to 98 percent, Wong said, adding that their 5G coverage rate in rural areas must be raised to 95 percent.
Both are committed to spending a total of NT$60 billion over the next four years to build network infrastructure using the increased bandwidth, he said.
Far EasTone would receive 2.07 million APT service subscribers through the merger, while Taiwan Mobile would receive 2.69 million Taiwan Star service subscribers, Wong said.
“Far EasTone and Taiwan Mobile have pledged that existing APT and Taiwan Star subscribers can continue accessing telecom services based on contracts they signed with their respective carriers until Dec. 31 next year. Changing SIM cards will not be necessary,” Wong said.
“Taiwan Star in 2019 offered some customers unlimited 4G services for only NT$199 per month, which is valid throughout their lives. They will continue to access the 4G services at the low monthly fee until the 4G license expires in 2033,” he said.
Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone must offer services to Taiwan Star and APT subscribers indiscriminately, Wong said.
“They must continue providing diverse service plans to subscribers, particularly users who are economically disadvantaged, physically challenged or from medium to low-income families,” he said.
The two telecoms must strive to minimize the digital divide by installing more base stations in rural areas, Wong said.
“We also hope that Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone can be more transparent in terms of their median sales prices and pricing strategies to help draw more service providers into the market,” he said. “They should expand the vertical applications of 5G by using the technology to build private networks for corporations.”
The two telecoms are committed to saving a total of 1.6 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually following the mergers, and spending NT$3.2 billion on digital inclusion projects over the next four years, Wong said.
Taiwan Mobile said that the commission’s ruling is “regrettable,” as it cannot possibly integrate networks with Taiwan Star in 18 months.
“This shows that current regulations cannot address challenges in the new era after the mergers of telecoms. We will let our board of directors decide what to do next,” the telecom said.
Far EasTone thanked NCC commissioners for approving its merger with APT.
“We respect the NCC’s ruling, and will submit an application for a merger with the Fair Trade Commission,” Far EasTone said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to