The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said it would discuss with telecoms ways to waive a NT$300 fee to have embedded SIM (eSIM) cards installed on mobile phones.
Unlike traditional SIM cards, which must be manually inserted into SIM slots on phones, an eSIM card can be installed by scanning a QR code provided by a telecom.
When changing to a new mobile phone, users can use “over the air” wireless technology to reinstall their eSIM on the new phone.
Photo: Chen Hsin-yu, Taipei Times
Apart from saving users the hassle of changing SIM cards, an eSIM also makes it possible for users to have dual SIM cards installed on a smartphone, allowing work and personal calls on the same device.
However, eSIMs can only be installed on newer smartphone models that support the feature, and users are charged a NT$300 fee when they purchase a new phone or switch to a different telecom.
Although there is no production cost for eSIM cards, the information security and verification technologies required for remote transmission are quite complex, the commission said.
“As such, so far only platforms verified by the Global System for Mobile Communications Association can issue eSIM cards, which would regularly charge telecoms maintenance fees, eSIM installation fees and fees for securing electronic serial numbers,” it said.
Such costs cannot be unilaterally decided by telecoms, the commission said.
“We will work with the telecoms to see if there is room for fee reduction,” NCC Vice Chairman and spokesperson Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said.
Currently, telecoms waive eSIM installation fees if subscribers install them for the first time. They also waive the fees for “VIP” customers and people who have recently renewed their service contracts or need to change to a new eSIM every five years.
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
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
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
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