A bi-weekly snapshot of Taiwan business news stories brought to you by CommonWealth and AmCham Taiwan’s TOPICS NCC Approves APT-FET Deal Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (NCC) on March 3 approved local telecom operator Far EasTone’s (FET) application to share its 5G bandwidth on the 3.5GHz frequency band with Asia-Pacific Telecom (APT). As a condition of…

The legislature is expected to loosen the current restrictions on media shareholding by government or political entities. BY TIMOTHY FERRY AND DON SHAPIRO The Legislative Yuan is currently considering draft amendments to Taiwan’s three primary media laws that would allow limited investment in electronic media operations by government, political parties, and the military. Current regulations…

NCC Chairwoman Nicole Chan. Photo: CNA

The National Communications Commission (NCC) surprised industry stakeholders in the fall of 2015 when, after years of study and preparation, it abruptly released the proposed text of a series of five new laws intended to promote digital convergence. The five draft acts cover electronic communication, telecom infrastructure and resources, cable systems, telecom services, and terrestrial…

Photo: Matthew Fulco

Despite flat-rate data packages pinching the margins of telecom operators and creating network congestion, Taiwanese consumers are still signing up for 4G in droves. Dony Wang is underwhelmed by Taiwan’s 4G LTE service. The project manager for a Taipei-based clean-energy company purchased an iPhone 6 for his wife last fall. Since then, his wife has…