Motorola has secured two contracts for WiMAX network infrastructure from Taiwan’s Far EasTone Telecom (FET) as part of the operator’s role in the national M-Taiwan project.
“Underlying the M-Taiwan project is a complete WiMAX ecosystem to create city-wide broadband network in order to roll out integrated mobile services,” said Jeffey Gee, executive vice president, Network Technology of Far EasTone Telecom.
The WiMAX network deployment is the largest roll out to date in Taiwan. FET is one of Taiwan’s largest 2G/3G telecom operators, with more than 6.4 million subscribers — about 33% share of the local wireless mobile market. It’s also a key player in the Taiwanese government’s M-Taiwan project, an initiative to create a standards-compliant environment supporting services, education, and entertainment on a national level.
Roll-out of FET’s WiMAX network will be 2-phased. Phase 1 implementation will commence in October 2007 and is expected to be completed by end December, 2007. The second phase is expected to be completed in early 2008.
Far EasTone won a license to build a WiMax network in southern Taiwan. It was the only one of the island’s major phone service providers to win one of the licenses, edging out its mobile phone service competitors, Chunghwa Telecom, the biggest phone company in Taiwan, and Taiwan Mobile. Taiwan is expected to produce WiMAX products for five international players – Sprint Nextel, Nokia Siemens Networks, Alcatel-Lucent, Motorola and Starent Networks, according to a Chinese-language Commercial Times report.
M-Taiwan is the blueprint for an islandwide WiMAX environment in Taiwan. The M-Taiwan Program is expected: (1) to improve Taiwan’s penetration rate of mobile internet from the 20th to 5th in the world ranking; (2) to become one of the top 10 countries with the lowest online access fee in the world. The plan envisions establishment of ten “mobile cities.”
The Intelligent Community Forum votes on the Top Seven Intelligent Communities of the Year that provide role models for best practices in creating competitive local economies and vibrant societies. The 2008 Smart21 Communities of the Year will be announced on October 25 at a ceremony in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
