Usually, when they put a dollar figure on it, it means that there’s a allocated budget, but it’s not very clear from the press release.
That’s a important clarifying question, because if that is the case, then our job becomes much easier, because we are in charge of allocating the spectrums and promoting competition, especially new entrants, to use radio frequency for fixed satellite services.
As many of you know, I just returned from Lithuania, and they already have access to the Starlink network. The Starlink network specializes to the moving vehicles, including airplanes and vehicles on the sea. It’s not just Starlink, but also other what we call non-geostationary satellite providers are considering entering the Taiwanese market.
In fact, last month, we’ve received two new applications. The more competition there is, the lower the cost will be. If the cost goes low enough, then without any new budget allocation by the FA, you will get your goal.
[laughs] Right. That’s one very concrete way we can help on this. Any thoughts?
If you search for non-geostationary satellites, NGSO, you’ll find currently running providers. I also saw that the FA is subsidizing, I think it’s 300,000 NT dollars per vehicle to purchase, I presume, satellite communications service.
Is it any specific vendor, or is that also subject for competition, is what I’m trying to say? A Starlink receiver is certainly not [laughs] that expensive.
Yes.
That’s excellent.
I think it’s just practical question.
Mm-hmm.
I see.
Of course. I think the Fisheries Agency and the Human Rights Commission in the Control Yuan, they all endorsed basically the C188 conventions, which includes satellites or radio communications. I don’t think this is, at this point, a political will thing, because everybody agreed that this is what should happen.
What we’re now working on is how to fast-track its happening. Instead of just to the 10 percent or the 10 percent-plus already wealthy companies [laughs], we want to be universal as much as possible, which brings me to my second point.
We are also in charge of universal service in Taiwan. As part of the Telecommunications Act, we’re responsible to provide fair essential communication to all national citizens. That’s the law.
I am sorry for that.
That’s the law… We inherited the law. [laughs] Just as the law indicated, there are certain essential services, including medical ones, that are not actually…You can’t tell a difference or discriminate between a national and a non-national when it comes to essential medical services.
In fact, our entire system of universal health services, the single-payer universal health, is founded upon the fact that you may not have a national identity card. You have a single-payer health card. That is the basis of the Taiwanese universal health system, which is also enshrined in the constitutional amendments.
During the pandemic, I was in charge of designing the computer systems for registration for vaccination and so on.
We made sure, in our digital systems, that people who even migrant workers that has long – how do I put this neutrally – stayed long past their expiration [laughs] of the certificate nevertheless get vaccination, based on the spirit of universal health. I believe this is really not a question of national versus non-national.
This year, we are beginning a research, for the whole year, about how should we adjust the rather fixed definition of what constitutes as universal access to broadband network.
When we say broadband is a human right, we certainly don’t just mean broadband is a ROC national citizen right. [laughs] That doesn’t sound as good. [laughs] We want to change the way the universal service fund works.
On the other hand, the universal access fund is not a taxpayer fund. It is a fund that is willingly contributed – well, by law, so somewhat willingly contributed – by all telecom operators to fund, to subsidize, telecom users in remote places.
It never gets into the treasury of our country, but rather it’s basically a structured subsidy payment system for the telecoms to base on their revenue to spend a portion of their profits to such universal access uses. The fund is quite sizable, and if we can redirect part of the fund to this, it will easily cover the FAA needs.
The question is how to convince the existing telecom providers that this also is maybe not in letter, but in spirit of the universal access. That is also one angle that we should explore. Once the research concludes by the end of this year, it may take effect on the next year.
Yeah, so we’re still on the procurement process to find the research team that re-explore what your universal access looks like.
For example, the current universal access fund does not provide for people with hearing or speech impairments for the use of the video relay service for the interpreter when they seek medical help because obviously, tele-compliance is not anything physical. It’s not fiber optics.
On the other hand, if someone is speech or hearing impaired and they need emergency communication for medical services, without such interpretation service, it’s as good as having no Internet.
It doesn’t really matter whether it’s provided by fixed broadband providers or by some AI company that provides this interpretation. There are many people who think that this should also qualify for the universal access criteria. This is just one example.
There’s a Universal Service Board that governs the use. I chair the board. The funding is provided by Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone, the telecom providers. We need to convince their employers [laughs] that our interpretation of the telecommunication law in this new way is kosher. This is inclusive.
We need to make a very sound case that, although the letter says the nationals, however, in some cases like medical services and so on, you cannot really tell a national from non-national, where they need medical help and so on. That is the work that we’re going to do this year. Your use case is also a very convincing use case. It’s even more clear-cut than the video relay service.
Of course.
I would also add that our minister of health and welfare founded last year the Department of Mental Health for the first time. Previously, it was a subdivision within some other department. From last year onward, now there is a dedicated department for mental health, which means that it’s as important as, say, long-term care.
It gives priority to essential health services. We know it’s essential, but it’s harder to argue that it’s essential compared to major trauma treatment or things like that. I think, in specific working conditions, it is actually more essential than many people think. To get that message out is also very important.
[laughs]
Yeah, quarantines.
Yeah, I think that’s an important angle.
I want to ask a clarifying question. When you said denying access, do you mean that, for example, the WiFi has a password that you don’t have? Or, do you mean that your phone, which is your property, is taken away from you?
But your phone is your property, is never taken away from you?
OK, good.
And the phones are all cameras, right? [laughs]
There’s electricity to charge the phone?
All that is not a problem?
It’s also the case in some construction fields.
They say it’s distracting or things like that, but also the fact that it has a camera. [laughs] If there’s a good reason, there’s a not-so-good reason. I’m happy to hear that the electricity, the charging, the safety in your own room is protected.
It opens a new possibility, which is a phone that has satellite connectivity. The phone with such connectivity, like to Starlink, will solve this problem without relying on the goodwill of the vehicle captain. Later this year, I think T-Mobile will provide such a phone, and I think more will follow.
To be sure, it’s not a satellite dish. While you can post video, you cannot do high-quality video conference. You can do phone conversation of a really high quality, but the video, you will have to do asynchronously, like you record and wait a little bit. That is still better than nothing.
A new phone, basically.
The newer iPhones, the newest one, already contains satellite communication for emergency use to send messages.
Of course. On the other hand, though, 5G phones used to be very premium and expensive, but everybody has seen that after a year or so, now they’re a commodity. Usually, competition drives the price to affordable levels within a year or two. I’m not a market analyst. I don’t know whether it’s a year or two. [laughs]
