The National Communications Commission(NCC),Executive Yuan,recently announced it will put up 270 megahertz of bandwidth for 4G license auctions,which are estimated to take place in 2013.
License winners are required to build network on the bandwidth to provide service that allows mobile download to stream up to 100 megabits per second(Mbps).
Considering the scarcity of radio spectrum resource and the exclusion of the resource,the commission will limit the maximum bandwidth that each service provider can acquire in the auctions to one third of the total.The minimum limit is set at 15MHz x 2.
In spite of the limits for per provider,the commission allows license winners to transfer usage rights of the bandwidth so that the resource can be used efficiently and flexibly.Transferring usage rights is a very new mechanism first applied to Taiwan's 4G license issue.
In 2013,the commission will release 700MHz,900MHz and 1800MHz radio frequencies on the 270MHz bandwidth for 4G providers.The providers are allowed to use all 4G wireless technologies approved by the International Telecommunications Union under the United Nations.
The commission demands that all licensed providers install at least 250 cell towers that can deliver download speed at 100Mbps.
Industry executives estimated the commission would issue four to eight 4G licenses,calling for an estimated NT$60-80 billion(US$2-2.7 billion at US$1:NT$29)in total auction charge.The licenses will come due on Dec.31,2020 in validity.
