Taiwan to delay issuance of nationwide WiMAX licenses

The Taiwan government has, for the time being, decided not to issue nationwide WiMAX licenses mainly because the six existing regional WiMAX licensees are behind schedule in setting up infrastructure and starting operations, according to industry sources.

Additionally, there is no feasible market for a WiMAX operator covering the whole of Taiwan as far as the current economic situation, market demand and subscriber base are concerned, the sources added.

As of December 15, 2009, only two out of the six licensees, Tatung InfoComm and Global Mobile, have obtained operating licenses, and the remaining four – Far EasTone Communications, Vmax Telecom, Vee Telecom Multimedia and First International Telecom (Fitel) – are either still waiting for, or in the process of applying for, the licenses, noted the sources.

It also remains to be seen if the local WiMAX operators will undergo any consolidation process as a means to expand their network coverage and operating scales so that the government will be better able to utilize its frequency resources for the deployment of the next-generation broadband technology, the sources contended.