Taiwan

Frequency Allocations for the C-Band

The Taiwan government is a strong promoter of the WiMAX technology. In fact, one of the initial license conditions for cellular network operators using the 2.6 GHz spectrum was that they use WiMAX technology only.

However, in June 2010 NCC supported the desire of Taiwanese WiMAX operators to convert to Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. NCC said that 4G licensing will take place in 2014 at the earliest. However, NCC has not made any decisions with regard to spectrum planning (which could include the 3.5 GHz band) or the number of 4G licenses. Four broadband operators: Global Mobile, Tatung Telecom, FarEasTone (FET) and VMAX, have been awarded technology-neutral licenses and the NCC has indicated that these operators may apply to alter their operational plans in order to adopt different mobile technologies, including LTE.

Earlier, the Mobile industry association, GSMA, had urged the Taiwanese government to change the original license conditions for 2.6 GHz spectrum to allow use of HSPA and LTE technologies. The general consensus is that these two technologies are favoured as 4G technologies. Satellite images WiMAX has also emerged as a viable 4G technology but with only about 20% of the world market.

Some Taiwanese operators are testing WiMAX in the 3.5 GHz band.