Taiwan Area Communication Profile 2012

Broadband Market - Overview & Statistics
Taiwan has rapidly become a significant player in broadband Internet access. The government has been especially busy promoting the benefits of broadband and has committed the country to being on a par with the US by 2010. Going into 2010, the total broadband penetration had been lifted to over 35% considering both fixed line and wireless. The proportion of the population who are Internet users has exceeded 65%. Some 80% of all homes in Taiwan own PCs and around 75% of homes have Internet connections. The market has also been rapidly moving away from dial-up access to broadband and over 80% of all Internet connections are broadband. There are a large number of ISPs (more than 180) in Taiwan, although a handful of big ones continue to dominate the market.

Key Statistics, Telecom Market Infrastructure & Regulatory Overview
Taiwan has undoubtedly one of the most advanced telecommunications networks in Asia. Increasing land and labour costs have forced Taiwan to concentrate on technology, and it is now a leading high-tech centre in Asia Pacific. Headed by what had been a runaway mobile sector which passed 100% penetration in early 2002, and a strong but declining fixed-line telephone sector with a penetration of over 55%, the market continues to find new ways to grow. Taiwan has been very progressive in its efforts to liberalise the telecommunications industry and to create a positive regulatory regime. First there was the strong push for competition to Chunghwa Telecom. The focus then moved to privatising the incumbent. Taiwan's telecommunication infrastructure has been upgraded significantly, undergoing a series of network modernisation projects over the last decade or so.

Major Telecom Operators - Overview & Statistics
This report looks at the major players in the Taiwan telecommunications market. Detailed coverage is given of financial and operational data for Chunghwa Telecom, Far Eastern Telecommunications Group, Taiwan Mobile, APBW, Vibo, and the major cable operators. The report is an essential overview of the companies' histories and their future directions. It highlights the shift in the focus of the telecommunications market from a monopoly, to what has become a highly competitive market place, particularly in the mobile space. This has meant more focus on leading edge, often bundled services to subscribers, who have considerably more choice in operator and service selection.

Mobile Market - Overview & Statistics
Taiwan's mobile market has been a remarkable phenomenon. By early 2002, the country had reached the milestone of one mobile service for every person on the island. This meant that it had the highest penetration of any mobile market in the world at the time. Entering 2010, penetration was sitting at around 116%. Consistent with the performance of its impressive mobile sector, Taiwan has been energetically moving into the next generation' of mobile services. Following the awarding of five licences for 3G services in 2002, one of the new licensees, APBW, launched its CDMA2000 1x service in 2003. The market newcomer passed the one million subscribers' milestone in late 2006, having grown fivefold in just three years. Three other 3G licensees launched their 3G services in 2005. Going into 2010 there were close to 15 million 3G subscribers, making up nearly 55% of the total mobile subscriber base.