In the News

Telecom firm plans Taipei WiMax expansion

• Publication Date：03/10/2010
• Source： United Daily News

Taipei City has entered a new era of fourth-generation WiMax technology, wireless telecom service provider VMAX Telecom Co. Ltd. announced March 9.

VMAX, licensed by the Cabinet-level National Communications Commission to offer mobile telecom services in the northern parts of Taiwan proper as well as outlying Lienchiang County, held a news conference at the Taipei City Hall yesterday.

In the future, company officials said, everyone in Taipei can enjoy “broadband, high-speed and real-time” Internet services using a WiMax enabled notebook computer.

Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin, who attended the conference, noted that at present 85 percent of the capital city’s population uses the Internet. This shows that the public has a huge demand for online information, he explained.

The city’s efforts in building a citywide Wifly broadband network have been successful, Hau said, adding that Taipei will showcase its experience at the Expo 2010 Shanghai. Taipei is the world’s first city to launch 4G WiMax services, he said. “Taipei has become a real ‘city of technology.’”

VMAX Chairman C.K. Liu pointed out that the 4G WiMAX technology is a milestone on the road to the next wireless high-speed era. Unlike the older 3G, 3.5G or Wifly standards, 4G WiMAX services allow people to surf the Internet while moving at high speeds.

As part of the launch conference, over 100 taxis equipped with mobile Internet access assembled in a parking lot near the city hall to demonstrate the kinds of services passengers can enjoy while riding in the cabs. These include high-speed web surfing, televisions, video games, online voting and instant messaging, among others.

According to M-taxi, the company under which the fleet operates, mobile Internet services are currently available in 1,000 of its cabs, with the number expected to increase to 6,000 by the end of 2010. The company hopes that eventually 20,000 of its cabs will be equipped with mobile Internet services. All such taxis will be identifiable with a special sticker attached to the windshield. (HSJ-CSF-HZW)