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Taiwan eyes 80 percent 100Mbps network coverage by 2015

Government officials say Taiwan fallen behind other countries in broadband infrastructure and plan to increase high-speed Internet connection, fiber optic and wireless broadband access, according to report.
Written by Liau Yun Qing, Contributor

Taiwan is targeting to have network coverage of up to 100Mbps for 80 percent of of its households by 2015, as political figures criticize the economy's lagging Internet infrastructure.

According to a Taipei Times report Tuesday, National Communications Commission (NCC) chairperson Su Herng noted that on top of the 80 percent network coverage, the government also plans to connect 6 million households with fiber optic connection and another 2 million with wireless broadband access by 2015, she said.

Su was speaking at a briefing with lawmakers on making Internet access a basic human right in Taiwan. However, the NCC's promise was met with skepticism from political party members, noted the report.

Lee Kun-Tse from the Democratic Progressive Party said the economy's current average Internet speed clocked at 13Mbps, much lower than the average speed of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations at 37.5 Mbps. Lee added that Taiwan lagged behind South Korea where the Internet services measured in gigabits per second (Gbps).

Su responded that Taiwan was aiming to catch up with South Korea. She noted that Chunghwa Telecom, for instance, would be investing NT$200 billion (US$6.76 billion) to boost its broadband infrastructure, according to Taipei Times.

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