《TAIPEI TIMES》 Telecom bill vote might open Taiwan to Starlink

By Esme Yeh / Staff writer, with CNA A legislative committee yesterday passed proposed amendments...…

Acting National Communications Commission Chairman Chen Chung-shu speaks in a legislative session yesterday. Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times

By Esme Yeh / Staff writer, with CNA

A legislative committee yesterday passed proposed amendments to telecommunications regulations that could pave the way for SpaceX’s Starlink entry into the domestic market.

The legislature’s Transportation Committee approved draft amendments to the Telecommunications Management Act （電信管理法） aimed at easing restrictions on the eligibility of public telecommunications operators applying to use telecommunications resources.

The current act requires the chairperson of the applying operator to be a Taiwanese national. It also stipulates that direct shareholding by foreigners in the applying operator may not exceed 49 percent, and the sum of direct and indirect shareholding by foreigners may not exceed 60 percent.

Such restrictions could be exempted under the draft amendments, if public telecommunications network providers applying to use telecommunications resources via satellite communications technology obtain approval from the competent authority.

The bill states that the competent authority would base its approval on the evaluation of national security, public telecommunications network security, telecommunications resource use, and development of the telecommunications industry.

The committee also passed supplementary resolutions requiring the competent authority to consider it a key evaluation factor as to whether the satellite ground stations and data storage would be located within the territory of Taiwan.