M-Taiwan Program and Objectives of WiMAX in Taiwan

[Alan J Weissberger]

Disclaimer: This article is largely based on Sean Wang's ( ITRI International's President) presentation of May 30th at the IEEE ComSoc SCV- SVC Wireless seminar on Mobile Broadband in the Pacific Rim.

"Taiwan’s 3G/4G Plan and Deployment" at the IEEE ComSoc - SVC Wireless seminar on May 30th at Santa Clara University.


Introduction:

We have been anxiously waiting for Taiwan's nationwide WiMAX network to go live. In this article, we survey the objectives of the M-Taiwan program for WiMAX and update you on a new dual mode device that will likely be deployed in Taiwan's WiMAX network.

M-Taiwan is a national pogram to realize Taiwan's WiMAX Blueprint, a Broadband Pipeline, and Mobile Applications via a WiMAX/WLAN-Cellular Dual Network. The latter part implies 3G-to-WiMAX interworking, something that Sprint has promised and Intel's Mobility Research Labs are investigating.

Taiwan’s WiMAX Blueprint:
”WiMAX Technology will be a focus for the future of Taiwan IT industry and will be a preferred technology option to deliver M-Service, M-Learning and M-Life in the Mobile Taiwan Program." -- The Science & Technology Advisor Group (STAG) of Executive Yuan.

The WiMAX Blueprint provides guidelines for technology development srategy, Nationwide R&D projects, and Spectrum allocation Planning. A specific objective was to participate in WiMAX standards organizations in the initial stages and then to team up with international players, such as Intel, Alcatel, NEC, Fujitsu, Alvarion, Cisco, and other WiMAX Forum member companies. Some of the local Taiwanese vendors involved in the WiMAX project include: Gemtek, MiTAC, JStream, CyberTAN , ZyXEL, Delta Networks, Quanta, Accton, Alpha Networks, Winston NeWeb Corp, Z-Com, Foxconn, Tecom, and ASUSTek.

The WiMAX test bed in Taiwan has deployed several applications and services to endorse WiMAX ecosystem (operators, content providers, software, manufactures etc). Some of the apps tested include: VoIP, LBS, IPTV, Security Monitoring, and M-video.

The plan is to target services and apps to government, schools, enterprises, and home use.
For example:
Government
• Gov. Service
• Surveillance
• M-Traffic Service
• M-Medicare

Schools
• M-Learning
• M-campus security

Enterprise/home• M-Business
• Video conference
• M-entertainment
• M-Homecare
• M-Finance
• VoIP…

M-Taiwan Deployment Status:

-Focus Application Services: M-services, M-Life and M-Learning
-Establish WiMAX industry in Taiwan
-Wireless internet access: 8 million subscribers without surfing barriers
-Key Stone Companies of M-Taiwan:17 companies in total

One of the most innovative aspects of the M-Taiwan WiMAX project is the world’s first Mobile WiMAX on a high speed train connecting cities in Taiwan.

-High speed rail will make Taiwan a “one-day” metropolitan (max speed of 300 km/hr) area
-International collaboration: ITRI, NTT Broadband Platform, NTT, Corning, and ZyXEL
to develop broadband network solutions using Mobile WiMAX technology
-It will enable download/upload data transmission speeds to reach 15Mbps
-This will be the world's first demonstration of Mobile WiMAX on a high-speed rail line.
-The project will also serve as a reference in the global deployment of broadband
access in ultra-mobile environments.

The combined WiMAX/WLAN and Cellular Networks will provide: Industrial Upgrading, Micro-Payments, Transportation Services, Environmental /Ecological Surveillance, an on-line City Guide, Safety and Security services.

Editor's Note: ITRI has arranged for the Head of Taiwan's WiMAX program office to speak at our IEEE ComSoc-SCV meeting on July 13th in San Jose, CA. All are invited and there is no admission charge. Please consult the IEEE ComSoc-SCV web site for meeting details.
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Separately, we've learned that Taiwanese PC motherboard company ECS has developed the dual-mode ECS U170/U171 WiMAX/GSM Dongle Phone:

http://www.wimaxian.com/2009/06/02/ecs-showcased-ecs-u170u171-wimaxgsm-dongle-phones-at-computex-2009/ )

We have requested product info from the company and will share it with you once its made available. Unfortunately, we have not heard from them yet and it's been almost two weeks since my email request.

[Alan J Weissberger]

Update on Taiwan market: WiMAX services tilting toward Southern Taiwan region

Taiwan-based WiMAX players are worried about the lag in service introductions between the northern and southern Taiwan regions will become an obstacle to a major take-off in the adoption of WiMAX services, according to market sources.

Following the inauguration of its WiMAX services on the offshore Penghu island in April, Tatung InfoComm will also kick off its commercial WiMAX operations in the southern port city of Kaohsiung early next month, said company president Peter Yen.

Tatung has also started trial runs of the WiMAX networks it established in Kaohsiung County under the Taiwan government-backed M-Taiwan program, and plans to switch the networks into commercial operations by the end of this year, Yen added.

Vmax Telecom and Global Mobile, the two WiMAX licensees for northern part of Taiwan, are currently building up their networks for the Taipei and Hsinchu areas, respectively. The two companies both plan to inaugurate their WiMAX services in the second half of the year.

The time lag in the deployments of WiMAX networks by licensees in northern and southern Taiwan will prevent WiMAX operators from offering related services such as roaming at the same time, and this could hamper the promotion of WiMAX services in Taiwan, market sources commented.

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20090630PD216.html