Nearly 99 percent of Taiwanese over the age of 16 made voice-over Internet protocol (VoIP) calls last year, with 62.8 minutes being the average call duration, the National Communications Commission said in its 2023 Communications Market Report.
The report, published yesterday, showed that 99.1 percent of respondents used the Line app and 49.2 percent used Facebook Messenger.
Taiwanese made use of Internet-enabled calls an average of 7.33 hours per week, significantly more than their cellphone use of 1.62 hours per week, it said.
Photo: Ting Yi, Taipei Times
More than 50 percent of Taiwanese only have mobile phones as their household communications device, and 25 percent switched from 4G to 5G services, the report said.
Meanwhile, 68.3 percent subscribed to unlimited data services for their mobile devices, which remained the most popular service package in Taiwan, it said.
Users also reported a higher rate of satisfaction with the coverage and quality of cellphone services compared with the previous year, the NCC said.
Cable television, which commanded a 61.7 percent market share, was still favored by television watchers over 16 years of age, it said.
Chunghwa Telecom’s MOD and over-the-top media services accounted for 13.1 percent and 12.9 percent respectively of the market, while terrestrial television had 9.5 percent, it said.
About 72.6 percent of respondents reported using television as their main source of information, while 41.5 percent made use of Web-based aggregation platforms including Yahoo, Google and Line Today, it said.
Furthermore, 38.3 percent of respondents used instant messenger services such as Facebook or Line for information, the NCC said.
Last year, Taiwan’s telecoms sector posted revenue of NT$285.1 billion (US$9.09 billion) after reaping the returns of investments in digital infrastructure and a spike in demand for media during the COVID-19 pandemic, marking the second consecutive year of growth, it said.
The number of fixed broadband Internet accounts grew to 6.55 million, it said.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
A woman who allegedly spiked the food and drinks of an Australian man with rat poison, leaving him in intensive care, has been charged with attempted murder, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. The woman, identified by her surname Yang (楊), is accused of repeatedly poisoning Alex Shorey over the course of several months last year to prevent the Australian man from leaving Taiwan, prosecutors said in a statement. Shorey was evacuated back to Australia on May 3 last year after being admitted to intensive care in Taiwan. According to prosecutors, Yang put bromadiolone, a rodenticide that prevents blood from
A Japanese space rocket carrying a Taiwanese satellite blasted off yesterday, but was later seen spiraling downward in the distance as the company said the launch attempt had failed. It was the second attempt by the Japanese start-up Space One to become the country’s first private firm to put a satellite into orbit, after its first try in March ended in a mid-air explosion. This time, its solid-fuel Kairos rocket had been carrying five satellites, including one from the Taiwan Space Agency and others designed by Japanese students and corporate ventures. Spectators gathered near the company’s coastal Spaceport Kii launch pad in Japan’s