To provide valuable information on coverage and quality of communications of both 2G and 3G of operators island-wide, NCC published the results of its findings on the internet on February 22, 2010. In all, five operators were surveyed: CHT, TWN, FET, VIBO and APT. The former three provide both 2G and 3G service , the latter two provide 3G service only. The results of all eight services have been integrated with an interactive map to convey communication quality. Users simply locate an area on the map and specify an operator and its service, the system informs the user of the operator’s radio coverage (as well as the quality of all eight services) at this location by use of color coding: green (good), yellow (fair), orange (acceptable), and white (poor). The system will also inform the user whether there is a 3.5G service provided at this location or not.
The radio coverage data are analyzed and generated by the telecommunication operators using Telecommunication Coverage Simulation Software based on a propagation model. After years of practical field experience, NCC is confident there is little margin for error in the results of the findings. It might be worth noting, however, that the information is far more accurate in an outdoor environment rather than an indoor one.
For the moment, the service information of Kinmen and Matsu islands has yet to be included. The data will be updated every six months though. A simplified English version of the system is also being planned for the near future.
The map can be found here: http://freqgis.ncc.gov.tw/pub_new/.