Taiwan Telecom: Broadband Deployment Initiatives

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TAIPEI 000580 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/RSP/TC AND EEB STATE PASS TO AIT/W FOR RICK RUZICKA STATE PASS TO USTR FOR ERIC ALTBACH AND MCHALE COMMERCE FOR ITA/OPB BRENDA CARTER-NIXON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD ECON ECPS TW SUBJECT: Taiwan Telecom: Broadband Deployment Initiatives Reftel: State 27310 Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) As you would expect of one of the world's leading Information and Communications Technology (ICT) hardware manufacturers, Taiwan's broadband infrastructure is well-developed and growing. Since the year 2000, the Taiwan authorities have appropriated almost USD five billion to fund a series of initiatives--E-Taiwan, M-Taiwan, U-Taiwan, and I-Taiwan--that have pushed broadband availability to almost 90 percent of households. These initiatives have each included funding to address the "digital divide" between Taiwan's different regions and ethnic groups, as well as measures to help small and medium-sized businesses become more connected. End summary. Background -------------- ¶2. (U) Taiwan is one of the leading ICT hardware manufacturers in the world, and a major procurement center for information technology (IT) companies. Taiwan is the world's biggest producer of 15 IT products, including 99 percent of the world's motherboards, 86 percent of notebook computers, and 76 percent of LCD monitors. The latest (2008) Business Software Alliance (BSA) and Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) joint report on IT competitiveness ranked Taiwan number two, second only to the United States. [Note: Taiwan follows the OECD standard defining broadband as having a data-transmission rate capability of at least 256 kilobits per second. End note.] ¶3. (U) Over the past ten years, the Taiwan authorities have pursued a series of ICT infrastructure development projects, beginning with the "E-Government" initiative in 2000 that aimed to create more efficient, networked public services. The authorities expanded E-Government to include "E-Society," "E-Industry," and "E-Opportunity" initiatives under 2002's "E-Taiwan" plan. According to James Lo, Section Chief in the National Communications Commission (NCC) Department of Planning, from 2003-2007, the Taiwan authorities and private sector partners spent over USD 10 billion on the broadband development. By the end of 2007, there were six million broadband internet accounts in Taiwan. ¶4. (U) In 2005, the authorities launched the ongoing National Information and Communications Initiative (NICI),or "M-Taiwan" program. M-Taiwan aims to expand broadband access across Taiwan, including providing a broadband Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) "pipeline" for major urban areas, and ensuring island-wide service for users of mobile phones, wireless local area networks (WLAN),and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX). By the end of 2008, the Ministry of Interior's Construction & Planning Agency (CPA) and local governments had together spent USD 1.1 billion on M-Taiwan, and completed 4,100 kilometers of the FTTH pipeline. During the same period, private-sector ICT infrastructure spending related to M-Taiwan amounted to USD 11 million. Current Broadband Initiatives -------------- ¶5. (SBU) On 29 April, econoff spoke with Jonathan Lai, Associate Researcher of the Executive Yuan (EY) Science & Technology Advisory Group, and Yang Chiahsu of the EY's National Information and Communications Initiative Committee (NICI) about two new broadband-related development programs: "U-Taiwan" and "I-Taiwan." According to Lai, the goal of U-Taiwan and I-Taiwan is to establish an "Intelligent Taiwan" having one of the world's most advanced "Ubiquitous network societies." Lai told us the Taiwan authorities will spend USD 3.7 billion on U and I-Taiwan projects over the programs' four years: USD 1.2 billion on education and other talent cultivation, and USD 2.5 billion on ICT equipment, applications, and IT-related cultural projects. ¶6. (SBU) According to Yang, the CPA will spend USD 906 million per year of these funds to bring Taiwan's optical-fiber broadband network to a total of 6000 kilometers, as well as subsidize Taiwan companies' development of new wireless devices and applications. Other ministries will use the funding to implement related projects. For example, the Ministry of Education (MOE) will spend USD 20 million per year to reduce Taiwan's digital divide by establishing broadband access for students in rural schools, many of whom do not have Internet access at home. Assistance to Disadvantaged Groups -------------- TAIPEI 00000580 002 OF 002 ¶7. (U) In addition to the MOE's digital divide spending, the E, M, I, and U-Taiwan projects include funding for improving the ICT access for poor, rural, aboriginal, and other under-served groups. According to the NCC's Lo, under the ongoing M-Taiwan project, the Taiwan authorities are working to offer computer equipment and internet access for 30,000 households in rural and mountainous areas. The project's Prevalence Promotion Program extended broadband service to every village (zhen) by February 2008, and will bring broadband to every designated aboriginal area by the end of 2010. By that time, the authorities plan to bring broadband availability on the main island of Taiwan to 99.6 percent of households, and 96.5 percent on outlying islands. Currently, 89 percent of households on outlying islands are able to sign up for broadband service. ¶8. (SBU) The authorities also used M-Taiwan funds to establish "digital opportunity centers" in 168 rural townships. These centers assist and train people for computer and internet use. The M-Taiwan program also included funds to subsidize expansion into eCommerce by 250,000 small and medium-sized enterprises and 400 farms. According to Lo, only 70 percent of small and medium enterprises currently have broadband Internet service. Broadband Usage Statistics -------------- ¶9. (U) According to the Taiwan Network Information Center (TNIC), the non-profit organization in charge of domain name registration and IP address allocation in Taiwan, 66.4 percent of Taiwan's households subscribe to broadband Internet. TNIC estimates this number will rise to almost 69 percent by mid-2009. Households in Taipei city and Kaohsiung City have the highest level of broadband connection at 79 percent and 75 percent, respectively, while households outside of these two cities have an average broadband usage rate of 64 percent. Looked at by level of urbanization, 70 percent of urban, suburban, and ex-urban households have broadband, while only 40 percent of households in "remote rural" areas have a broadband connection. As of September 2008, Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) accounted for 20% of Taiwan's broadband service. ¶10. (U) Unsurprisingly, TNIC data show broadband Internet usage in Taiwan is strongly correlated to levels of education and income. 85 percent of households headed by someone with at least a college education have broadband access, but this number slips to 71 percent for households headed by high school graduates, and 26 percent for those who have not attended high school. 90 percent of households with monthly incomes of USD 2418 or more have broadband Internet, as do 75 percent of households with monthly incomes of between USD 606 and USD 2417. Only 19 percent of households making under USD 606 per month have broadband. Comment -------------- ¶11. (SBU) By any measure, Taiwan has one of the most connected societies in the world: over 66 percent of people use the Internet--roughly comparable to the U.S. figure of 73 percent --and Daily Wireless, the wireless industry's largest news site, recently ranked Taipei as the second most connected city in the world, ahead of Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore, and behind only Seoul. Taiwan is intent on maintaining this edge as well, as the Taiwan authorities and private investors continue to pour money into the island's already world-class broadband infrastructure. End comment. Young