Taiwan market: Keen competition expected for 4G
Chloe Yu, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Thursday 4 July 2013]
There are seven applicants competing for 4G mobile communication licenses in Taiwan. If all of them receive the license, none of them will obtain sufficient bandwidth to provide satisfactory services, according to CEO Vincent Chih for Asia Pacific Telecom, which is one of the competitors.
If that happens, Chih said, some form of consolidation between the licensees will occur in the future.
Asia Pacific Telecom has set aside NT$12.6-13 billion (US$418-431 million) for bidding a 4G license, company chairwoman Sophia Chiu said, and 4G operators will face difficulty establishing fiber-optic networks as back haul and in seeking desirable locations of base stations.
Every 4G licensee is expected to start commercial operation as soon as possible, but the starting time hinges on which band units are acquired, Chiu indicated. Based on Asia Pacific Telecom's estimation, return on investment in 4G infrastructure will take 5-7 years, Chiu said.
Of the fiber-optic network used by Asia Pacific Telecom, 82% is its own, and the ratio will increase to 92% at the end of 2013, Chih indicated.
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