Chunghwa Telecom's new chairman has pushed forward the operator's plans for rolling out LTE services, as the company confirms it is pursuing a 4G sharing agreement with a new market entrant.
Rick Tsai, who left Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) in January to join Chunghwa, told theChina Post that the operator is aiming to launch 4G services in July.
Chunghwa Telecom had previously been planning for a 4G launch sometime in the second half of 2014.
By accelerating the launch, Tsai said he expects Chunghwa to be able to exceed its earlier target of having 300,000 4G subscribers by the end of the year.
Chunghwa president Shih Mu-piao meanwhile confirmed to local media that the company is in negotiations with Taiwan Star Cellular over a potential 4G infrastructure sharing deal.
The negotiations cover infrastructure and base station sharing, and the provision of leased line access to Taiwan Star, he said.
Taiwan Star is a subsidiary of Ting Hsin International conglomerate. It secured one of two new telecom licenses allocated during Taiwan's $4 billion 4G auction last year.
The other new license went to Ambit Microsystems, an affiliate of manufacturing giant Hon Hai.