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The National Communications Commission (NCC) is scheduled to start auctions of 5G spectrums Dec. 10, NCC Acting Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥) said Monday.

In a hearing held by the transportation committee of the Legislative Yuan, Chen laid out the schedule for Taiwan’s 5G spectrum auctions and the plan for the country’s next-generation telecommunications technology development.

Speaking to lawmakers, Chen said that after completing the spectrum auctions, the NCC is scheduled to issue 5G licenses by the end of January 2020.

Chen said the NCC is taking applications from contenders for the auctions, with the deadline set for Oct. 3. He said that so far, the NCC has sold seven application forms to telecom operators eyeing the local 5G market.

Chen added that the CNN will spend two months reviewing the applications after the deadline and will announce which applicants will be qualified to take part in the auctions.

Since Taiwan has five telecom services providers – Chunghwa Telecom Co., Taiwan Mobile Co. and Far EasTone Telecommunications Co., Taiwan Star Telecom Corp. and Asia Pacific Telecom Co. – the media has expressed curiosity about who the seven applicants are.

However, Tsai Kuo-tung (蔡國棟), a deputy section chief of the NCC, said two of the five operators bought two forms. He did not not disclose which ones.

According to the NCC, the commission will auction three frequency ranges for the 5G spectrum auctions: 3.5GHz, 28GHz and 1.8GZ, and a total of 2790MHz in bandwidth. The floor price has been set at NT$24.3 billion (US$784 million) for the frequency range of 3.5GHz, with 270MHz in bandwidth, NT$2.5 billion for the frequency range of 28GHz, with 2500MHz in bandwidth, and NT$3.2 billion for the frequency range of 1.8GHz, with 20MHz in bandwidth, the NCC said.

The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) is planning to launch a second round of 5G spectrum auctions in 2023 after consulting with the NCC, the MOTC said Sunday.

In the second round of auctions, the MOTC said it has tentatively planned to release 200MHz in bandwidth in the frequency range of below 6GHz, and 37-40GHz in bandwidth in the frequency range of above 6GHz.

Details of the plan will not be finalized until the auction results of the first round are revealed, the MOTC said.

To facilitate integration of the 5G technology development efforts in Taiwan, the MOTC in August invited the local telecom industry, the manufacturing sector, the petrochemical sector, hospitals and the smart machinery industry to discuss what they need, in a bid to build a quality 5G environment in Taiwan.

Date：2019-09-24
Source：CNA