Taiwan market: NCC price adjustment proposal may deter carriers from investing, says Nokia Siemens executive

The recent proposal by Taiwan's National Communications Commission (NCC) requiring local telecom carriers to lower charges for fixed-line and mobile communication services may hamper the carriers willingness to launch new investments for infrastructure roll-outs and services, according to Mike Wang, general manager of Nokia Siemens Networks Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

The liberalization of the Taiwan telecom industry, which has been in effect since 1996, has resulted in the issuance of eight 2G licenses, five 3G licenses and six WiMAX licenses, and all operators have managed to survive through competition and consolidation, said Wang, urging the NCC to respect the market mechanism.

An average EPS of NT$3-4 (US$0.094-0.126) generated by Taiwan-based carriers a year cannot be seen as windfall profits, Wang commented.