Far Eastone sees WiMax by early 2009
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taiwan's second-largest telecoms carrier, Far Eastone Communications Co. Ltd., said Friday it plans to roll out commercial WiMax services by the end of 2008 or early 2009.
WiMax -- seen as a step up from the WiFi standard, which is limited by proximity to a transmitter -- allows anyone with a WiMax enabled laptop or media device to download songs over distances of up to 30 miles.
"We are in the trial and testing phase right now, and we won't launch commercially unit late 2008, or early 2009," Far Eastone President Jan Nilsson told reporters at a briefing to mark the firm's 10th year.
Nilsson also said it would invest NT$5 billion to build the services for southern Taiwan, for which the company currently has the WiMax license, and about NT$10 billion to build services for the entire island.
Nilsson added that Far Eastone would build the WiMax equipment on top of the company's current mobile communications infrastructure.
The company also plans to collaborate with one of the license holders for northern Taiwan and is in discussions with a potential partner, he said.
In July, Taiwan's telecoms regulator awarded licenses to six telecoms firms, with each company given a specific region for coverage.
Besides Far Eastone, other winners were Tatung Co., First International Telecom Corp., Vastar Cable TV System Corp., Global On Corp. and a joint venture between telecom-equipment maker Tecom Co. and VIBO Telecom Inc.
Far Eastone's Nilsson said he sees "growth" in revenue next year, and it has set a goal of outgrowing its larger local rival Chunghwa Telecom. He declined to give specific figures.
Far Eastone's smaller cross-town rival is Taiwan Mobile. Its shares ended 0.72 percent lower Friday, under-performing the benchmark TAIEX index's 0.02 percent decline.
WiMax -- seen as a step up from the WiFi standard, which is limited by proximity to a transmitter -- allows anyone with a WiMax enabled laptop or media device to download songs over distances of up to 30 miles.
"We are in the trial and testing phase right now, and we won't launch commercially unit late 2008, or early 2009," Far Eastone President Jan Nilsson told reporters at a briefing to mark the firm's 10th year.
Nilsson also said it would invest NT$5 billion to build the services for southern Taiwan, for which the company currently has the WiMax license, and about NT$10 billion to build services for the entire island.
Nilsson added that Far Eastone would build the WiMax equipment on top of the company's current mobile communications infrastructure.
The company also plans to collaborate with one of the license holders for northern Taiwan and is in discussions with a potential partner, he said.
In July, Taiwan's telecoms regulator awarded licenses to six telecoms firms, with each company given a specific region for coverage.
Besides Far Eastone, other winners were Tatung Co., First International Telecom Corp., Vastar Cable TV System Corp., Global On Corp. and a joint venture between telecom-equipment maker Tecom Co. and VIBO Telecom Inc.
Far Eastone's Nilsson said he sees "growth" in revenue next year, and it has set a goal of outgrowing its larger local rival Chunghwa Telecom. He declined to give specific figures.
Far Eastone's smaller cross-town rival is Taiwan Mobile. Its shares ended 0.72 percent lower Friday, under-performing the benchmark TAIEX index's 0.02 percent decline.
posted by John Baush at
12:27 AM
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