Taiwan - Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Forecasts

Publication Overview

Taiwan is a country leading in technology use. The report covers trends and developments in telecommunications, mobile, internet, broadband, digital TV and IPTV developments. Subjects include:

• Market and industry analyses, trends and developments;
• Facts, figures and statistics;
• Industry and regulatory issues;
• Infrastructure;
• Major Players, Revenues, Subscribers, ARPU;
• Internet, IPTV;
• Mobile Voice and Data Markets;
• Broadband (FttX, DSL, cable TV, WiMAX);
• Digital Media;
• Forecasts on mobile, 3G, fixed-line, broadband and FttX subscribers up to 2016.

Researcher:- Lisa Hulme-Jones
Current publication date:- November 2011 (17th Edition)

Executive Summary

3G and FttX at a tipping point to drive ARPU

Taiwan has 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. With excellent telecommunications infrastructure in place and the innovative use of breakthrough information technologies, the country continues to be well placed to drive both mobile and data communications services. Annual telecommunications service revenues are around NT$400 billion (US$12 billion) and investment in telecoms infrastructure remains substantial.

Taiwan has rapidly become a significant player in broadband Internet access. Going into 2011, the total broadband penetration had been lifted to around 95% when considering both fixed-line and wireless. The proportion of the population who are Internet users has exceeded 70%. The market has rapidly moved to broadband and FttX connections should become the dominant form of access technology in 2011.

Taiwan has a competitive mobile environment and still has high expectations for WiMAX There is significant investment in this area underpinned by the government and companies among which is Intel. Data services continue to grow as a percentage of revenues, as the take-up for 3G increases. 3G subscribers now account for over 65% of the total mobile subscriber base.

However, many telecoms sub-sectors are at or near saturation which constrain the scope for growth. While the market has been liberalised, there is still limited competition in the local access market which is dominated by Chunghwa Telecom. Competition has meant more focus on leading edge, often bundled services to subscribers, who have considerably more choice in operator and service selection.

The 2008 financial crisis and subsequent economic slowdown in 2009 had an impact on many of the operators’ strategies. Faced with diminishing opportunities in the home market, Chunghwa Telecom continues to look for acquisitions overseas, concentrating its efforts in China and emerging markets as part of its mid-term strategy.

Market highlights:

• Taiwan’s mobile operators had signed up close to 20 million 3G subscribers going into 2012. 3G handset users account for more than 70% of all mobile subscribers;
• The new operators, Vibo and APBW gained close to 65% of net additions during 2010, increasing the pressure on the three big players;
• Chunghwa Telecom’s Optical Era Project involves an investment of approximately US$1.8 billion to construct an island-wide fibre-optic network over five years. Entering 2011 the company provided fibre access to 2 million residential and business subscribers.
• WiMAX networks became operational in 2010 but slow uptake resulted in the first industry consolidation towards end 2011 with the original six players becoming five;
• The NCC continues to delay awarding two mobile TV licences.

Taiwan – Key performance indicators – 2009 - 2011

(Source: BuddeComm based on industry data)

For those needing high level objective analysis on Taiwan, this report is essential reading and gives further information on:

• Chunghwa Telecom’s ambitious program, which includes increasing the coverage of its fixed-line network exceeding 50Mb/s speeds to 80% of its network by 2015.
• A warming of relations between China and Taiwan in recent years, raising the prospect of significant investment flows.
• Analogue switch off beginning in the remote islands during 2008 and then in the eastern area of Taiwan in 2009, with the completion of analogue switchover in 2013.
• Chunghwa Telecom planning to upgrade its mobile infrastructure to HSPA+ technology and then start testing an LTE network from 2011 in anticipation of licensing in 2014.

Table of Contents

• 1. Key Statistics
• 2. Country Overview
  • 2.1 Background
  • 2.2 Taiwan’s economy
• 3. Telecommunications Market
  • 3.1 Overview of Taiwan’s telecom market
  • 3.2 Background of Taiwan’s telecom market
  • 3.3 Telecommunications market sectors
    • 3.3.1 Fixed-line and mobile phone statistics
    • 3.3.2 Telecom revenue by service
    • 3.3.3 Data communications revenue
    • 3.3.4 Fixed, mobile, internet and broadband subscriber comparison
• 4. Regulatory Environment
  • 4.1 Regulatory authorities
  • 4.2 Legislation and market liberalisation
  • 4.3 The 1996 Telecom Bill
  • 4.4 Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC)
  • 4.5 National Communications Commission (NCC)
  • 4.6 Privatisation of Chunghwa Telecom
  • 4.7 Foreign investment
  • 4.8 Licensing
  • 4.9 Foreign equipment restrictions
  • 4.10 Telecoms tariffs
  • 4.11 Amendments to the Radio and Television act
    • 4.11.1 Digital Convergence Policy Initiative
    • 4.11.2 Restructure of telecoms and broadcasting markets
    • 4.11.3 Further policies to promote digital convergence
  • 4.12 National Information and Communication Initiative (NICI)
  • 4.13 International rankings
• 5. Fixed Network Market
  • 5.1 Market overview
  • 5.2 Fixed network operators’ market share
• 6. Major Operators
  • 6.1 Chunghwa Telecom Co Ltd (CHT)
    • 6.1.1 CHT – background
    • 6.1.2 CHT – financials
    • 6.1.3 CHT – revenue breakdown
    • 6.1.4 CHT – subscriber base
    • 6.1.5 CHT – investments
    • 6.1.6 CHT – market share by segment
    • 6.1.7 CHT – mobile network - overview
    • 6.1.8 CHT – mobile network – 3G
    • 6.1.9 CHT – broadband – HiNet
    • 6.1.10 CHT – broadband – FttX
    • 6.1.11 CHT – broadband – Movies-on-Demand (MOD)
    • 6.1.12 CHT – 2010 financial performance
  • 6.2 Far EasTern Telecommunications Group
    • 6.2.1 Far EasTone – background
    • 6.2.2 Far EasTone – financials
    • 6.2.3 Far EasTone – subscribers
    • 6.2.4 KG Telecom
    • 6.2.5 New Century InfoComm Tech Co Ltd (Sparq)
  • 6.3 Taiwan Mobile (formerly Taiwan Cellular)
    • 6.3.1 Taiwan Mobile – background
    • 6.3.2 Taiwan Mobile – financials
    • 6.3.3 Taiwan Mobile – subscribers
    • 6.3.4 Taiwan Fixed Network Telecom
  • 6.4 Asia Pacific Broadband Wireless (APBW)
  • 6.5 VIBO Telecom
  • 6.6 Major cable TV players
    • 6.6.1 kbro (previously Eastern Multimedia Group (EMG))
    • 6.6.2 Taiwan Broadband Communications
    • 6.6.3 China Network Systems (previously United Communications Group)
• 7. Telecommunications Infrastructure
  • 7.1 Submarine cable networks
  • 7.2 Satellite networks
• 8. Internet Market
  • 8.1 Overview of the internet market
    • 8.1.1 ISP market
  • 8.2 Internet statistics
    • 8.2.1 Internet users and subscribers
    • 8.2.2 Internet bandwidth capacity
    • 8.2.3 Internet hosts
• 9. Broadband Market
  • 9.1 Overview of Taiwan’s broadband market
  • 9.2 Broadband statistics
    • 9.2.1 Fixed-line broadband market development
    • 9.2.2 Fixed-line broadband market by access type
    • 9.2.3 Fixed-line and mobile broadband subscriber statistics
  • 9.3 Government initiatives for broadband and m-Taiwan
  • 9.4 Broadband technologies
    • 9.4.1 Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
    • 9.4.2 Cable modems
    • 9.4.3 Fibre-to-the-Home (FttH)
    • 9.4.4 Chunghwa telecom broadband statistics
    • 9.4.5 Chunghwa telecom broadband prices
  • 9.5 WiFi
  • 9.6 WiMAX
    • 9.6.1 Background
    • 9.6.2 WiMAX in Taiwan – licensing
    • 9.6.3 WiMAX in Taiwan – network rollouts
    • 9.6.4 WiMAX roaming
    • 9.6.5 WiMAX subscribers and revenue
• 10. Digital Media / Digital Economy
  • 10.1 E-government
  • 10.2 Overview of broadcasting market
    • 10.2.1 Television
    • 10.2.2 Digital terrestrial services
    • 10.2.3 Cable TV
• 11. Mobile Communications
  • 11.1 Overview of Taiwan’s mobile market
  • 11.2 Mobile statistics
    • 11.2.1 Mobile sector revenues
    • 11.2.2 Mobile subscriber statistics
    • 11.2.3 Mobile ARPU
    • 11.2.4 3G mobile subscriber statistics
  • 11.3 Major mobile operators
    • 11.3.1 Mobile operator comparison
    • 11.3.2 Net additions per mobile operator comparison
    • 11.3.3 ARPU per mobile operator comparison
    • 11.3.4 3G mobile operator comparison
  • 11.4 Mobile services
    • 11.4.1 Prepaid cards
    • 11.4.2 SMS message volume, WAP and GPRS subscribers
    • 11.4.3 Mobile internet
    • 11.4.4 Mobile TV
    • 11.4.5 Mobile value-added services
    • 11.4.6 Mobile banking
    • 11.4.7 NFC payments
  • 11.5 Mobile Number Portability (MNP)
  • 11.6 Personal Handyphone Service (PHS)
  • 11.7 Third Generation (3G) mobile
    • 11.7.1 Background
    • 11.7.2 3G roll out
  • 11.8 4G and LTE
• 12. Forecasts
  • 12.1 Forecast fixed-line subscribers – 2011; 2016
  • 12.2 Forecast fixed broadband subscribers – 2011; 2016
  • 12.3 Forecast FttX subscribers – 2011; 2016
  • 12.4 Forecast total mobile subscribers – 2011; 2016
  • 12.5 Forecast 3G mobile subscribers – 2011; 2016
  • 12.6 Forecasting methodology
• 13. Glossary of Abbreviations

• Table 1 – Country statistics – 2011
• Table 2 – Telecom revenue and investment statistics – 2010
• Table 3 – Telephone network statistics – September 2011
• Table 4 – Internet user statistics – December 2010
• Table 5 – Broadband statistics – June 2011
• Table 6 – Mobile statistics – September 2011
• Table 7 – National telecommunications authorities
• Table 8 – Taiwan GDP and GDP per capita – 2000 - 2016
• Table 9 – Taiwan telecoms service revenue – 1985; 1990; 1995; 2000; 2005 - 2010
• Table 10 – Taiwan – Fixed-line and mobile subscribers and penetration – 1995 - 2012
• Table 11 – Taiwan - Call volumes for outgoing mobile and fixed network traffic – 1999 - 2010
• Table 12 – Taiwan - Distribution of telecom revenue by services – 2010
• Table 13 – Taiwan - Data communication revenue and mobile data service revenue as proportion of total telecom revenue – 2001 - 2010
• Table 14 – Number of telecom subscribers per 100 inhabitants – 2001 - 2012
• Table 15 – Fixed network operators – market share by revenue – 2010
• Table 16 – Chunghwa Telecom fixed subscribers and market share – 2004 - 2010
• Table 17 – Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom revenue, capex, net profit and employees – 2000 - 2011
• Table 18 – Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom revenue breakdown – 2003; 2006 - 2010
• Table 19 – Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom fixed line and mobile subscribers and market share – 2000 - 2010
• Table 20 – Chunghwa Telecom’s subscriber base – September 2011
• Table 21 – Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom market share by segment – December 2010
• Table 22 – Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom mobile subscribers and annual change – 1998 - 2010
• Table 23 – Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom’s blended mobile ARPU – 2001 - 2010
• Table 24 – Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom internet HiNet subscribers by access type – 2003 - 2010
• Table 25 – Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom internet ARPU in NT$ – 2001 - 2010
• Table 26 – Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom broadband network development by number of ports and coverage greater than 50Mb/s – 2007 - 2015
• Table 27 – Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom broadband subscribers by access type – 2003 - 2010
• Table 28 – Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom broadband subscribers by connection speed – 2009 - 2010
• Table 29 – Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom MOD subscribers – 2005 - 2011
• Table 30 – Taiwan - Far EasTone revenue, EBITDA, capex, net profit and ARPU – 2003 - 2011
• Table 31 – Taiwan - Far EasTone mobile subscribers and annual change – 1998 - 2011
• Table 32 – Taiwan - Far EasTone selected operational data – 2006 - 2010
• Table 33 – KG Telecom mobile subscribers and annual change – 1998 - 2006
• Table 34 – Taiwan - Taiwan Mobile revenue and net profit – 2003 - 2010
• Table 35 – Taiwan - Taiwan Mobile revenue breakdown per business segment – 2010
• Table 36 – Taiwan - Taiwan Mobile subscribers and annual change – 1998 – 2011
• Table 37 – Taiwan - Taiwan Mobile selected operational data – 2006 - 2010
• Table 38 – Taiwan - APBW mobile subscribers and annual change – 2003 - 2011
• Table 39 – Taiwan - VIBO Telecom mobile subscribers and annual change – 2005 - 2011
• Table 40 – Cable subscribers by major operator – 2005 - 2010
• Table 41 – Taiwan - Internet users and subscribers – 1995 - 2012
• Table 42 – Taiwan - Internet subscribers by access technology – June 2011
• Table 43 – Taiwan - International internet bandwidth capacity – 2001 - 2010
• Table 44 – Taiwan - Number of internet hosts – 2001 - 2010
• Table 45 – Taiwan - Fixed-line broadband subscribers, penetration and proportion of internet subscribers – 2000 - 2012
• Table 46 – Taiwan - Broadband subscribers and households – June 2011
• Table 47 – Taiwan - Broadband subscribers and annual change by access – June 2011
• Table 48 – Taiwan - Fixed-line and wireless broadband subscribers by technology – 2003 – 2011
• Table 49 – Taiwan - Fixed-line and wireless broadband subscribers and penetration – 2003 - 2012
• Table 50 – Taiwan - DSL subscribers – 2000 - 2012
• Table 51 – Taiwan - Cable Modem subscribers – 2000 - 2012
• Table 52 – Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom broadband subscribers and market share – 2001 - 2011
• Table 53 – Taiwan - FttX subscribers – 2007 - 2012
• Table 54 – Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom HiNet subscriber and ARPU – 2004 - 2010
• Table 55 – Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom broadband charges for ADSL and FttX – August 2011
• Table 56 – Taiwan 2.5GHz spectrum winners – 2007
• Table 57 – Key broadcasting statistics – 2010
• Table 58 –Cable TV subscribers – 2002 – 2011
• Table 59 – Taiwan - Mobile services revenue – 1992 - 2010
• Table 60 – Taiwan - Mobile subscribers and penetration – 1995 - 2012
• Table 61 –Taiwan – Mobile subscriber growth by technology (PHS, 2G and 3G) – 2003 – 2011
• Table 62 – 2G and 3G mobile services ARPU – 2005 - 2010
• Table 63 – Taiwan - 3G mobile subscribers and market share – 2003 - 2012
• Table 64 – Taiwan - Mobile operators, subscribers and annual change – December 2010
• Table 65 – Taiwan - Mobile subscribers, net additions by operator – 2010
• Table 66 – Taiwan - Mobile subscribers, market share and ARPU by operator – December 2010
• Table 67 – Taiwan - 3G mobile subscribers and market share – December 2010
• Table 68 – Taiwan - Prepaid mobile subscribers – market share – 2001 - 2010
• Table 69 – Taiwan - SMS message volume and revenue, WAP and GPRS subscribers – 2001 - 2010
• Table 70 – Taiwan - Mobile internet subscribers – 2001 - 2010
• Table 71 – Taiwan PHS subscriber growth – 2001 - 2011
• Table 72 – Forecast fixed line subscribers and penetration - higher band: 2010 - 2011; 2016
• Table 73 – Forecast fixed line subscribers and penetration - lower band: 2010 - 2011; 2016
• Table 74 – Taiwan - Forecast fixed broadband subscribers and penetration - lower band: 2010 - 2011; 2016
• Table 75 – Taiwan - Forecast fixed broadband subscribers and penetration - higher band: 2010 - 2011; 2016
• Table 76 – Taiwan - Forecast FttX subscribers and penetration - lower band: 2010 - 2011; 2016
• Table 77 – Taiwan - Forecast FttX subscribers and penetration - higher band: 2010 - 2011; 2016
• Table 78 – Taiwan - Forecast mobile subscribers and penetration – lower band: 2010 - 2011; 2016
• Table 79 – Taiwan - Forecast mobile subscribers and penetration – higher band: 2010 - 2011; 2016
• Table 80 – Taiwan - Forecast 3G mobile subscribers and penetration – lower band: 2010 - 2011; 2016
• Table 81 – Taiwan - Forecast 3G mobile subscribers and penetration - higher band: 2010 - 2011; 2016

• Chart 1 – Taiwan fixed-line and mobile subscribers – 1995 - 2012
• Chart 2 – Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom fixed-line and mobile subscribers – 2000 - 2010
• Chart 3 – Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom 2G and 3G mobile subscribers – 1998 - 2010
• Chart 4 – Taiwan - Internet users and penetration – 1995 - 2012
• Chart 5 – Taiwan - Fixed-line broadband subscribers and penetration – 2000 - 2012
• Chart 6 – Taiwan - Fixed-line broadband subscribers by technology – 2003 - 2010
• Chart 7 – Taiwan - Mobile subscribers and penetration – 1995 - 2012
• Chart 8 – Taiwan - Mobile subscribers by technology (PHS, 2G, 3G) – 2003 - 2010
• Chart 9 – Taiwan - 3G mobile subscribers and penetration – 2003 - 2012
• Chart 10 – Taiwan - Mobile internet subscribers – 2001 - 2010

• Exhibit 1 – Map of Taiwan
• Exhibit 2 – Major global/regional submarine cables with landing point in Taiwan – 2011
• Exhibit 3 – Major broadcasting organisations
• Exhibit 4 – Mobile TV trial broadcasters