NCC Chairperson Dr. Howard S.H. Shyr attended “the first anniversary of the new NCC Committee and the second anniversary of the Convergence Policy Research Center”, which was held by the Convergence Policy Research Center on July 19, 2013, and gave a speech entitled “NCC Inherits the Past and Ushers in the Future: a New Beginning after the 498th Committee Meeting.”
　Chairperson Shyr said that as NCC defined itself as an independent body rather than an isolated one, it had actively eliminated disputes over business authority with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) and other organizations. The chairperson also described how NCC conducted extensive research of market conditions and consumers’ needs, and how it coordinated with a wide range of organizations, with the aim of maintaining equity in the market and creating multi-win situations. After taking up this post, with a view to increasing the transparency of NCC’s policies, Chairperson Shyr also accepted numerous foreign media interviews. Furthermore, Chairperson Shyr expressed that with the aim of maximizing public welfare, NCC would continue its internal restructuring and, by utilizing task forces, administrative procedures would be more efficiently streamlined and, in turn, accelerated.
　Chairperson Shyr also said that after a year of efforts, the commission had begun to see certain fruitful results. The prices for prepaid cards have dropped 10 to 30 percent; ADSL service has either increased speeds or lowered charges; compared with the Q3 of 2012, the digitization of cable TV increased 7.11 percent in Q1 of 2013, raising the overall digitization ratio to 25.27%. Current efforts of the NCC include the planning of 4G licenses and adjusting digital cable TV fees, adhering to the principles of protecting consumers’ rights, maintaining sound competition, and facilitating convergence.
　The event was hosted by Bonnie Peng, former NCC Chairperson and Professor of the Department of Journalism, National Chengchi University (NCCU) with communication specialists and scholars, such as Lee Ta-Sung, the former NCC commissioner and the Professor of National Chiao Tung University (NCTU), as well as representatives from the industry and academia, also in attendance.