The “Digital Convergence Development Program” of the Executive Yuan depicts a two-stage regulation amendment to lift restrictions on cross-sector operations between telecommunication, radio and internet enterprises under the horizontal control framework, which facilitates fair competition in layers. Full digital convergence has been estimated to be achieved by 2015. In light of this, the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei held the 2010 Telecommunication Symposium on November 5, 2010 (Friday) to accelerate digital convergence in Taiwan through interactions among industrial, governmental and academic sectors.
← Commissioner Chang, Shi-Chung of NCC addresses the symposium on behalf of NCC.
As part of the opening session, Commissioner Chang, Shi-Chung of NCC addressed the symposium and described the current development of digital convergence of communications in Taiwan, the role NCC plays in the Digital Convergence Development Program, and the future direction of convergence.
Commissioner Chang first gave an overview of the structure of the “digital convergence program team”, which is headed by Dr. Chang, Chin-Fu, one of the Ministers without portfolio of the Executive Yuan, and has Dr. Chen Cheng-Tsang, Vice-Chairperson of NCC, as one of its members. He then mentioned that NCC serves as the convener of the “convergence and regulatory environment coordination section” and the “television digitization acceleration section.”
Commissioner Chang also explained how the first stage of the plan will address the urgent issues of convergence and cross-disciplinary obstructions in connection with individual regulations by amending the three Acts (Radio and Television Act, Cable Radio and Television Act, and Satellite Broadcasting Act) in Radio and Television Sector and the Telecommunications Act. The second stage will create a new digital convergence environment with the development of a regulatory framework at various levels. With regards to the acceleration of Digital TV, Commissioner Chang explained that the promotion scheme and measures have already been developed for the switchover, and NCC is exploring possibilities to improve the popularization of digital cable television.
The topics discussed in this symposium covered “Taiwan Macro Environment Phenomenon”, The Future of TV”, and “What Key Performance Index should the government be setting to encourage more investments in Taiwan’s Telecom industry”.
