May 14, 2014
A consolidation of Taiwan's 4G mobile market is considered by the government to be "reasonable" because the move could bring economy of scale to some operators and help them provide better services, a top government official said on Monday.
Simon Chang, head of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said Taiwan's current telecom operators are facing stiff competition against each other because the market appears more crowded than in other countries.
"If there could be a suitable consolidation of the (4G) market, it could help some carriers grow," Chang told reporters on the sidelines of a local forum on the digital home and multimedia industry.
"But growing company size does not equal making more money. A bigger company size could help the operators reach an economy of scale and then bring better mobile services to consumers," he said.
The official described a market consolidation of Taiwanese 4G operators as "reasonable" in light of the upcoming operation of the country's 4G LTE network and a government plan to release 4G spectrums that are currently occupied by WiMAX network operators.
The remarks come days after Taiwan Star Cellular, a telecom arm of conglomerate Ting Hsin International Group, formally announced a bid on May 8 to acquire Asia Pacific Telecom to consolidate the resources of the two companies in 4G LTE operation.
Taiwan Star is not the only suitor that aims to acquire Asia Pacific Telecom. Ambit Microsystems, a subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry, also proposed on May 8 a bid to buy Asia Pacific Telecom.
Taiwan Star is one of two new telecom services providers in Taiwan that secured a 4G telecom license in October 2013, the other being Ambit Microsystems.
Four other telecom operators that already provide 3G services in Taiwan — Asia Pacific Telecom, Chunghwa Telecom, Far EasTone Telecommunications and Taiwan Mobile — have also obtained 4G licenses.
Source: WantChinaTimes.com