The National Communications Commission (NCC) has completed Phase-2 of the 11th Stage release of broadcasting radio station licenses. Among the qualified applicants of phase-1, the preparation offices of Dajin, International, Voice of North Taiwan, Wind City, and Happiness have been announced as the five winning bidders of the regional license auction with total winning bids amounting to TWD740.5 million. Ten preparation offices, including Keelung Relaxing and Tao-Hua-Yuan-Xiang, among others, won the draw for community licenses. NCC expects the winners to operate appropriately, optimizing spectrum efficiency, integrating innovative applications of digital media, and providing culturally diverse content to local peoples.

　　According to a statement from NCC, the release is undertaken over two phases: a substantive review of the applicant’s operating plan is conducted during phase-1; for phase-2, qualified applicants for regional permits participate in auctions, while those applicants qualified for community permits participate in the drawing of lots. Phase-2 of the 11th stage release of radio broadcast licenses was completed on August 8.

　　During the regional (medium power) radio broadcast license auction, only one round of bidding took place with the bidding concluding after approximately one hour. For this stage, one license for regional (medium power) radio stations (FM) was made available in the Keelung, Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, and Kinmen regions. In all, there were fourteen qualified bidders: Keelung (2), Taipei (3), Taoyuan (4), Hsinchu (2), and Kinmen (3). The total winning bids amounted to TWD 740.5 million. Please see Annex 1 for more details of winning bids.

　　During the same day (Aug. 8), NCC also conducted the drawing of lots for community-based (low power) radio station licenses. For this stage, eleven community (low-power) radio station licenses were made available for release. Among them, there were no applicants in the Lianjiang area; moreover, there was just one qualified applicant in the Kaohsiung area, which thereby became the automatic winner. The remaining 143 qualified applicants took part in the drawing of lots for nine other licenses. The ten winners of community licenses have obtained establishment permits. The detailed results of the draw are shown in Annex 2.

　　NCC also stated, after the promulgation, winning bidders shall adhere to the relevant procedures of applying for establishment permits, station installation permits, and so on so as to obtain an operating license in compliance with relevant regulations on Radio and Television prior to launching broadcasting operations. In addition, the winners of the regional radio station licenses are required to remit winning bids and the performance bonds within the prescribed period. By then, it shall be enabled to provide local people with greater choice of diverse content.

　　NCC determined the number of licenses by considering the conditions of the broadcasting industry and the existing industrial level-up room. Applicants were specifically requested to consider assertively adopting digital media as part of their radio station operation plan, which should have also accounted for the planning of the public interests, child protection, service to indigenous groups, and so on. Furthermore, NCC hopes that the applicants have been enabled to operate broadcasting appropriately and sincerely after winning the bid. NCC will continue to pay close attention to trends in broadcasting development and industrial dynamics so that it can plan future policy.

　　To conclude, the total amount of winning bids for the regional radio broadcast licenses amounted TWD740.5 million. There were 144 applicants that applied for 10 community radio broadcast licenses. Competition was fierce, which indicates that the market has a favorable outlook on the value of the broadcast spectrum, the profit the radio broadcasting industry can still be generated in the digital age and that the overall development of the industry can continue into the future.

　　NCC expects that these new entrants into the radio broadcasting industry can place value on the importance of regional demand, cultural diversity, local languages, regional development, and emergency alerts and warnings can be more effectively imparted. It also aims that spectrum use can be maximized, by providing high-quality, real-time content, attracting more diverse audiences, expanding the scale of the market, and that broadcasters can progressively adopt innovative applications of digital media to bridge future development and ensure that broadcast services and technology can both progress with the times.