 | Issue: | Asia-Pacific II 2005 |
| Article no.: | 3 | |
| Topic: | The portable Internet – mobile telephony in Taiwan | |
| Author: | Victor Tsan | |
| Title: | Managing Director | |
| Organisation: | Market Intelligence Center, Taiwan | |
| PDF size: | 64KB |
About author
Dr Victor Tsan is the Managing Director of the Market Intelligence Center of Taiwan’s Institute for the Information Industry (MIC/III). Previously Dr Tsan served as the Information Science Exhibition Centre’s Deputy Director and as the Deputy Director of the Market Intelligence Center (III). Dr Tsan has also worked as a Senior Industry Analyst at the Institute for the Information Industry’s Silicon Valley Branch Office, as an Evaluation Committee Member of the Software Industry Service Group and as a Research Project Manager and Professional Training Manager for the MOEA, Industrial Technology Information Services project (ITIS). In addition, he has been an Acer Computer Product Manager and an Editing Committee Member for the Republic of China Information and Electronics Industry Yearbook 1995-1997. Dr Tsan has earned a number of awards including: the MOEA Minister’s Outstanding Achievement Award, 1998, the Annual Outstanding Youth Achievement Award, recommended by MOEA, 1995, the Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Service and Promotion in recognition of his outstanding performance as manager of the MOEA ITIS Project, 1994, 1995 and the MIC/III Award for Excellence in 1993. Dr Tsan earned his BS in Electrical Engineering from Taiwan National Central University, his MBA from Taiwan National Chengchi University and his PhD in Information Management from Taiwan National Central University.
Article abstract
Taiwan’s access to and use of digital technology is among the world’s highest. It is also one of the world’s leading producers, markets and exporters of ICT equipment. Taipei’s cybercitizens now have access to a citywide WLAN or wireless local area network. By integrating wireless LAN connectivity with the support of GSM mobile networks, Taiwan’s ‘Ubiquitous Mobile Network’ will enable people throughout the island to access and roam the Internet using a WLAN with their mobile phone anywhere they go.
Full Article
In November 2003, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) released a global Information and Communication Technology (ICT) access study. It measured the Digital Access Index of 178 economies according to eight variables in five areas of availability of infrastructure, affordability of access, educational level, quality of ICT services and Internet usage. According to this study, Taiwan ranked number nine globally in the Digital Access Index, or DAI, study and number three in Asia. Taiwan has the world’s highest mobile phone subscribers penetration, at 106 per cent, and it is the world’s fifth densest broadband market. Taiwan has a total population of around 23 million; mobile and wireless Internet users there now number more than 2.38 million, while broadband now reaches more than 10.31 million users. As a part of the National Development plan, effective 2005, the US$1 billion National M-Taiwan initiative is underway; it aims to create a ‘Ubiquitous Mobile Network’ throughout the island by 2008. People will be able to access and roam the Internet using a wireless LAN with their mobile phone just about anywhere they go. The M-Taiwan project has two principal goals: to dramatically expand wired and wireless broadband Internet access in Taiwan and to give local industry a leading position in the development of products and high-bandwidth services that integrate wireless LAN connectivity with the support of GSM mobile networks. While Philadelphia officials have billed their project as the world’s largest WLAN network, Taiwan’s government wants to not only cover urban areas like Taipei with wireless Internet access but it also wants to tie these networks together with mobile services called iB3G, or Internet Beyond 3G. The target is to set up the basic infrastructures to combine mobile phone network service, IT computer platforms and broadband Internet links together with 6000 kilometres of the broadband fixed networks and ten ‘mobile cities’ plus 15 ‘special mobile districts’ around Taiwan by 2008. By then, the government expects to see more than 4 million mobile subscribers in Taiwan using dual-mode handsets that support WLAN and GSM networks. Using WLAN to offer these services provides lower costs and higher bandwidth than available using alternatives, such as 3G technology. Current development in wireless Taipei Taiwanese operators initially rolled out the unprecedented WLAN-GSM combined services in three cities, Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung, during the first quarter of 2005. Considered as one of the Mayor of Taipei’s most important policies, the three-phase mobile wireless network is already underway. By end of 2005, the WISP (Wireless Internet Service Provider) Q-ware will complete 10,000 AP (Access Point) installations to reach at least 90 per cent in-street coverage throughout the city. Taipei’s cybercitizens can now take advantage in public areas of free trial access to the city’s WiFly service, Taipei’s citywide WLAN or wireless local area network. In addition to instant messages about traffic and parking, the Taipei city government is making an effort to provide services such as mobile medical clinics, online applications for household registration and land administration matters. Other services, to be provided by the city’s strategic partner Q-ware, will give consumers outlets for e-learning, stock market information, screen graphics and ring tone downloads and others are planned. Local businesses will be invited to join the network, and tourists will be able to borrow PDAs to guide them around the city. Taiwan: a critical ICT market There is no doubt that Taiwan is a critical market for many ICT companies. In terms of ICT products, the dynamic markets in Asia usually include most, if not all, of these areas: Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India and Singapore. These Asian countries are generally perceived as important technology markets because they have mature IT markets, technology-savvy consumers, high Internet penetration, huge market potentials or serve as important bases for technology development within Asia. In terms of mobile communication, Taiwan’s mobile phone subscriber penetration rate is greater than 100 per cent. This means that many mobile phone users have more than one account. It is very common to see people carrying two mobile phones around with them in Taiwan. Taiwan is an ICT export oriented economy, and the most popular exhibitions in Taiwan are ICT related. If you ask Taipei residents aged between 15 to 50 about their holiday recreational activities, they are very likely to answer it is shopping at the ‘Kwang-Hwa Market’ or 3C malls. Since Skype was introduced in 2004, there have been 4 million downloads of the software, 17.4 per cent of total population, and 1.7 million account registrations, or 7.4 per cent of the total population. It is not surprising to see many key global ICT players will choose Taiwan as the best try & tell market for new product launch. They know consumers in Taiwan are very sophisticated, technology savvy, price sensitive and that the market is very competitive and geographically concentrated. If they can be successful in Taiwan’s market, the chance that they will succeed in another Asian market is high. Focus on market opportunities and industry trends Taiwan is not only an important ICT market; it also plays a key role in the global ICT industry. From motherboards to monitors, from PCs to PDAs, Taiwanese companies produce a very substantial share of the devices that now spread throughout the worldwide market. In terms of output, Taiwan is among the top four largest producers of IT hardware. Although China has recently inched ahead of Taiwan, it is notable that Taiwanese firms on the mainland produce more than 70 per cent of China’s IT output. With tremendous flexibility and a unique Original Equipment Manufacturing and Original Design Manufacturing (OEM/ODM) business model, Taiwan has become one of the most important partners of the world’s major ICT producers. Taiwan’s share of the global supply of most ICT products is expected to continue to increase. Tapping into their close partnership with large PC brand players, and capitalizing their technological development strengths, Taiwanese manufacturers have kept abreast of the mobility and wireless trend. In 2004, Taiwan had an 83 per cent share in total global shipments of WLAN related production. In terms of mobile handsets, Taiwanese PDA and mobile phone shipments volume accounted for 79 per cent and 8.3 per cent of worldwide production respectively in 2004. With the aim of boosting Taiwan’s presence at the higher ends of the industrial value chain, the government has enacted the Challenge 2008 National Development Plan, a six-year plan that is intended to effect political, financial and fiscal reform. Challenge 2008 is comprised of sub-plans, such as digital infrastructure, international innovation and R&D base establishment and industrial value strengthening, which will play a great role in shaping the future development of the Taiwanese ICT industry. In particular, the ‘Broadband and Wireless Industry Promotion Plan’, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, is designed to expedite the implementation of ever more sophisticated wireless broadband services brought by new wireless technology. Government authorities have taken a series of steps to become pre-eminent adopters of the technology themselves (e-government), and stimulated the development of adequate national backbone networks (duo-net integration). The government has also interacted closely with the private sector and given subsidies and other incentives to extend coverage into rural areas to reach new user groups. The mobile handset device – crucial for growth Duo-net mobile phone How can one access a WLAN by using, for example, WiFi, and roam the Internet? First, one would need a smart phone type mobile device. The Duo-Net WLAN/ GSM mobile phone is already on the market. At an average selling price of US$650, it is still pricy for the average consumer. When you talk through VoWLAN (Voice Wireless Local Area Network), the advantage is that you do not have to pay a fee to phone operators, the major disadvantage, though, is that battery consumption is much greater. WiFi Phone Using a WiFi Phone as an add-on IPPBX (Internet Protocol Switchboard) would probably be the best solution for business enterprises. At present, companies with regional or cross-country operations are often equipped with IPPBX facilities for convenience and cost efficiency. The deployment of the WiFi Phone will facilitate the location of employees in a duo-net environment. Finding a killer app Mobile phones now come with built-in cameras, GPRS, Multi-media Messaging (MMS), Java and WAP. Still, all this has done little to change the fact that more than 90 per cent of mobile phone usage, by value, is to make phone calls. Currently, value-added services account for less than 10 per cent of the three leading operators’ total revenue. Demand for value-added services in the Taiwanese mobile communications market is thus still relatively low; creating or finding mobile communications killer apps would be key to future value-added service growth. Perspective and reflections Taiwan has laid a sound foundation for the development of a wireless eco-system. Its fixed line and wireless broadband users ratios are high. Access to mobile devices in Taiwan is easy. The Government’s leadership in ICT development is strong. Taiwan’s 3G or iB3G era will begin, in earnest, in 2005. In the case of 3G, the main selling point is the ability to provide rich mobile multimedia value-added service content. Successful rollout of the M-Taiwan project will require effective coordination of network deployment, ensured handset availability and a clear picture of what subscribers’ needs are with respect to value added services.
