The soft launch of Far EasTone’s WiMAX 4G in Taichung today heralds a new communications age. In attendance at the open ceremony were the Mayor of Taichung, Jason Hu; committee members of NCC; representatives from the Ministry of Economic Affairs; Chairman of Far EasTone, Douglas Hsu; President of Far EasTone, Jan Nilsson and other invited guests. Together, they launched FET BBB WiMAX 4G service in Taichung and later mingled with the crowd to demonstrate and also to personally experience the improved network performance of higher speed and enhanced transmission quality. A slew of services including wireless broadband movie and music, family-oriented digital entertainment, digital advertising, mobile internet access, e-book etc. were on hand to wow the guests.  

Douglas Hsu: Taichung as the top of the most digitalized city in Taiwan

Far EasTone’s WiMAX 4G a boost to helping Taichung become a hub for cloud computing

“ Taichung is a charming city. Under Mayor Hu’s leadership, the city has come to life and is well recognised for its numerous achievements. In a recently concluded survey by the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission of the Executive Yuan, Taichung came in as the most digitally-savvy city among 25 cities and counties in Taiwan . Evidently, the government in Taichung has worked hard on improving the city by taking advantage of the benefits and conveniences afforded by technological advancements. With the launch of WiMAX 4G , I firmly believe that the aim of making Taichung a hub for cloud computing is well within reach.”  

In 1996, after successfully obtaining our mobile operator license, Far EasTone put in all the best efforts to prepare for the historical moment in 1997 when we made the first 3G video call in Taiwan . Likewise for WiMAX, Far EasTone is the only mobile services provider among the country’s top 3 who has been awarded the WiMAX 4G license. Using Taichung as a launching pad, Far EasTone hopes that this latest technological advancement will fuse better with the modern lifestyle and also allow Taichung residents to enjoy the conveniences of enhanced mobility.  

“2009 is the 60th anniversary for the Far Eastern Group. The launch of WiMAX 4G is not only double happiness for us but is also a major milestone in the company history. I am sure all of you are just as excited as I as we embark on this new phase of our life to enjoy the all-encompassing mobile broadband technology.”  

Vice Chairman & President of Far EasTone, Jan Nilsson expresses, “Through our participation in the M-Taiwan project, we had the opportunity to work with the government and to pool our resources together to achieve the result of WiMAX 4G . In planning the gamut of services, we took great care to address relevancy for the different target segments and came up with family-oriented entertainment, mobile internet and business-related offerings so as to allow each group to enjoy these on the WiMAX network. From 3G , 3.5G to the current WiMAX 4G , Far EasTone has always made the end-users the focal point. That is why we study their internet needs, usage habits and hardware requirements very closely in order to provide them with the highest premium services.  

Jan comments further, “For instance, the 3.5G is appropriate for mobile phone users who seek instant action and convenience while WiMAX 4G is more appropriate for heavy internet netbook users who are likely to download big files, enjoy movies, music or gaming over the internet.  With WiMAX 4G , satisfying the diverse needs of all the different user groups for internet accessibility or mobility is now possible.  

Currently there’re around 100 WiMAX sites in Taichung city which cover around 90% of the population, Far EasTone will continually improve the site numbers after the launch for the better WiMAX 4G service quality. Furthermore, Far EasTone is signing the roaming agreement with the Global Mobile Corp., Tatung InfoComm and VMAX to provide WiMAX roaming service expanding not only to Taichung residents but also the other cities.”  

At Taichung’s launch party for Far EasTone’s WiMAX 4G , an impressive guest list that included NCC’s Committee Member; Ministry of Economic Affairs Industrial Development Bureau; representatives from the M-Taiwan project; officials from Taichung municipal government; both local and foreign members of the communication industry; Intel; Motorola; Yu Cheng Technology; members of the WiMAX industry and other invited guests were present to share the joyous occasion and also to witness the birth of Taichung as a hub for cloud computing.