Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd., Taiwan’s largest telecommunications provider, said June 20 that it has reached an agreement with New Tang Dynasty Asia Pacific Television to allow the TV station to use its new ST-2 satellite for broadcasts.
The accord marks an about-face on Chunghwa Telecom’s earlier controversial decision to end their contract.
“This is an optimistic outcome as far as the National Communications Commission is concerned,” NCC spokesman Chen Cheng-tsang said.
New Tang Dynasty confirmed that it had concluded a deal with Chunghwa Telecom June 19 to renew the broadcast lease, saying that the details of the agreement would be made public June 22.
In April, Chunghwa Telecom had notified the TV station that it would not renew the contract scheduled to expire in August, saying the ST-2 satellite set to replace the aging ST-1 satellite would not have sufficient bandwidth to provide the service.
In response, New Tang Dynasty asked the NCC to step in to help resolve the issue, while Premier Wu Den-yih convened a cross-ministerial meeting May 24, inviting representatives of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the NCC and Chunghwa Telecom to discuss how to handle the matter.
Chen said the NCC has advocated all along that the two sides should settle the matter in an appropriate manner based solely on business considerations.
Although it is inadvisable for the NCC to get involved, Chen continued, he advised Premier Wu to step in as the government holds a 35-percent stake in Chunghwa Telecom.
According to Chen, Wu stated that if Chunghwa Telecom’s new satellite had sufficient bandwidth, the company should give priority to accommodating New Tang Dynasty, and if not, it should find another satellite with similar coverage as that of the ST-1 satellite to provide continuing services to the TV station.
“Regardless of New Tang Dynasty’s programming content, the TV station’s existence attests to freedom of speech in Taiwan,” Chen stated, adding that the NCC therefore advised Chunghwa Telecom to provide bandwidth, if available, for its broadcasts. (SB)