National Communications Commission (NCC) Chairperson Howard S.H. Shyr led a Chinese-Taipei delegation to participate at the 10th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Telecommunications and Information Ministers Meeting (TELMIN10), held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on March 30 and 31, in which he expressed the willingness of Taiwan to strengthen cooperation and working relationships with other economies in the Asia Pacific Region. The Chairperson outlined the vibrant development of the ICT industry on Taiwan and stressed that Taiwan would be keen to share its experiences with its APEC partners in order to create more opportunities across the region. He also stressed that Taiwan was eager to participate in and join more regional agreements and extend its contribution within the APEC community.
　During his speech, Chairperson Shyr emphasized that sound broadband development was key to boosting economic growth. The Chairperson also outlined some specific achievements of ICT development on Taiwan, such as the “Broadband for Villages” and “Broadband for Tribes” projects and explained that since early 2012, it had been promoting the upgrade of broadband speeds from 2Mbps to 12Mbps in remote areas, and 100Mbps for all primary and secondary schools; it is estimated that by the end of 2015, more than 95% of the population will be covered.
　Dr. Shyr then outlined the rapid growth of 4G subscribers since licenses were issued last year; the number of subscribers is expected to reach more than 4 million this year. And this year NCC will release 190MHz of spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band to provide more universal mobile broadband services, accelerate the development of applications, and drive innovation and economic growth.
　The Chairperson moved on to mention the success of the "Digital Opportunity Center (ADOC)" plan, which was proposed by Taiwan to APEC in 2003. Through this project, more than 100 training centers in 10 economies have been established, helping transform the digital divide into digital opportunities in remote areas. This achievement was acknowledged during the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting last year.
　Chairperson Shyr also highlighted how Taiwan has engaged deeply in multilateral negotiations, including ITA and TiSA. Bilateral agreements with China, Singapore and New Zealand demonstrated willingness for further co-operation. The Chairperson also pointed out that Taiwan is eager to participate in and join more regional agreements, including TPP and RCEP for more contribution.
　With the aim of enhancing regional development, TELMIN 10 invited ministers of Asia-Pacific economies to share how they are investing in future growth and how it could be boosted through ICTs. Chairperson Shyr, accompanied by colleagues of NCC, MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and MOTC (Ministry of Transportations and Communications) attended TELMIN10 and arranged bilateral meeting with Australia, the United States, Singapore and other economies, exchanged experiences and trends in ICT development, and discussed how to ensure greater prosperity across the Asia-Pacific region.
　Before ministerial meetings, representatives from economies had discussed the Strategic Action Plan 2016-2020 at APEC TEL pre-meetings. The Strategic Action Plan consists of the following Priority Areas: (1) Develop and support ICT innovation, (2) Promote a secure, resilient and trusted ICT environment, (3) Promote regional economic integration, (4) Enhance the Digital Economy and the Internet Economy, (5) Strengthen cooperation.
　Taiwan was actively involved in the drafting of this Strategic Action Plan and proposed several comments that were adopted along with their relevant objectives and actions, including “Promote innovation and value creation in ICTs” with the action of “address convergence, new services and changes in use”; also, “Enhanced physical connectivity,” with the tied action of “Promote diversity in the use of ICTs”.
　In terms of the objective “Development of new industries,” NCC proposed the action “Promote the development of new industries through the application of ICTs” and raised the use of sensor networks, smart grids, big data and data analytics, digital identity authentication, etc as possible initiatives.
　Furthermore, regarding the actions of “Promote interoperability between APEC economies,” NCC also provided advice on the “Exchange information on new technologies and issues, and encourage participation in TEL WG MRAs” of the possible initiatives. Similarly, with respects to the actions, “Promote the Internet of Things (IoT)” and “application-to-application connectivity,” NCC raised the possible initiative “innovative business models” for discussion of IoT development.
　In conclusion, NCC considers its participation at TELMIN10 to be a notable success and, along with related agencies, will continue to implement the strategic action plan and endeavor to promote international exchanges and cooperation in order to promote development of ICT and improving its capabilities internationally.