Taiwan telcos surpass 1 million 5G subscribers

Taiwan has onboarded more than one million 5G subscribers, six months after the country’s rollout of 5G commercial services by its plethora of carriers, industry statistics highlighted.

The small East Asian country began distribution of its first 5G wave back in June 2020, with Chunghwa Telecom being the first to rollout fifth generation services in July.

In parallel, Taiwan’s other major telcos – Far EasTone Telecommunications Co., Taiwan Mobile Co., Taiwan Star Telecom and Asia Pacific Telecom – soon followed suit.

Chunghwa Telecom announced that it has reached a total of 300,000 5G subscribers at the beginning of December, pledging to push the number to half a million by the end of 2020. To this day, Chunghwa has installed more than 4,000 5G base stations across the county.

According to Chunghwa Telecom Chairman Chi-Mau Sheih, the company will invest more US$352 million next year to improve its mobile communication infrastructure.

In parallel, Far EasTone and Taiwan Mobile also boasted a user-base of 300,000 5G subscribers since the 5G launch in July, according to recent press reports. Taiwan Mobile President Jamie Lin told reporters that the company expects 5G users to account for 15 to 20 percent of its total subscribers by the end of 2021.

Chee Ching, President of Far Eastone, said the company is determined to strengthen its 5G infrastructure so that it can gain a higher share of the market.

Taiwan Mobile had partnered with Finnish telecoms giant Nokia to broaden its 5G network, as it acquired 60 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band and 200 megahertz of the 28 GHz frequency.

Both Taiwan Star Telecom – or T Star for short – and Asia Pacific Telecom trailed behind their rivals with each telco ramping up 100,000 5G users, as T Star vowed to double their effort to increase subscribers from five to 10 percent in 2021.

T Star had previously announced that it aimed to reach 80 percent coverage of its 5G network in Taiwan’s major metropolitan areas by the end of 2020, with plans to expand its 5G operation across other cities, counties, and the suburbs of these major metropolitan areas by 2023.

The overall 5G penetration in Taiwan is expected to reach 20 percent in 2021 mainly due to the availability of budget-friendly 5G smartphones and proliferation of related 5G applications, industry sources reported.