WASHINGTON-The government of Taiwan has licensed nine groups to operate CT2, second-generation cordless telephone service in the nation’s three telecommunications regions.
Observers say it may give the operators a chance to prove themselves before other telecom services are privatized in the future. All cellular service in the Republic of China is operated by the government-owned Directorate General of Telecommunications. An estimated 783,000 customers subscribe to the Advanced Mobile Phone System; a Global System for Mobile communications network is scheduled to go on line this year.
The CT2 networks are expected to be commercially viable in early 1996. The handset market could be worth about $100 million in the first three years, analysts estimate.
Pacific Electric Wire and Cable Group holds a license in each of the three regions-north, central and south.
Licensees in the north are Pacific Telecommunications (Pacific group), Po-yuan and Shen-kwan. License holders for the central area are Chun-du (Pacific group), Hsin-ke and Shou-ting. South area licensees are Chun-hsin (Pacific group), Shih-chi and Chung-hwa Zen-zen.
CT2 is a digital cordless telephony standard that uses a common air interface and can serve as a residential cordless phone and/or within office systems.
Taiwan, located off the southeast coast of China, has a population of about 21.3 million.
