A plan to upgrade the iTaiwan free Wi-Fi service in public spaces and on transportation networks such as Taiwan High Speed Rail before the Summer Universiade and World Congress on Information Technology commence Aug. 19-30 and Sept. 10-13 in Taipei, respectively, was detailed by Premier Lin Chuan March 30 in Taipei City.
The project is the first seeking to boost broadband internet access and bridge the urban-rural divide in Taiwan under the NT$46 billion (US$1.49 billion) digital component of the government’s new Forward-looking Infrastructure Program. It involves the installation in 12 THSR tunnels of leaky feeder communication systems, which will emit signals to Wi-Fi routers in each of THSR’s 34 trains.
According to the Board of Science and Technology under the Executive Yuan, the project will give passengers wireless access to the internet using an iTaiwan account.
Lin said since its launch in 2007, THSR has become an irreplaceable mode of transportation for locals and foreign tourists. It is heading towards a new milestone through providing passengers with free Wi-Fi, he added.
By providing free Wi-Fi access in public places and on transportation networks, Lin said, iTaiwan is further upgrading the nation’s reputation as a high-tech hub at home and abroad.
THSR is the nation’s flagship rail transportation system. Ridership on the 350-kilometer north-south line situated in western Taiwan increased from 30.58 million in 2008 to more than 50 million in 2015 and again in 2016. In December last year, it carried its 400 millionth passenger.
Launched in December 2013 by the Tourism Bureau under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the iTaiwan free Wi-Fi service boasts 10,136 hotspots nationwide and over 4.13 million registered accounts. To date, the service has recorded more than 210 million logins, of which 730,000 were attributed to foreign tourists.
The digital component of the FIP comprises five key areas: cultural and creative new media, infrastructure as security, innovative workforce, internet access as a human right and one-click service.
Budgeted at NT$880 billion, the near-decadelong Forward-looking Infrastructure Program is aimed at stimulating growth and driving Taiwan’s industrial transformation over the next 30 years. It spans five main areas: digital infrastructure, railways, renewable energy, urban-rural development and water resources, and is forecast to add NT$975.9 billion to the country’s real gross domestic product over eight years while creating up to 50,000 new jobs. (KWS-E)
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