M-Taiwan is the blueprint for an islandwide WiMAX environment in Taiwan. M-Taiwan is advancing the international competitiveness of Taiwan’s cities through the adoption of city-wide wireless networks that provide integrated mobile services.

Taiwan is at the top of today’s global ICT manufacturing game, supplying the world with an entire range of IT products from semiconductors, computers, consumer electronics, through to networking products. Already, Taiwan’s highly successful Wi-Fi industry dominates the world with a global market share of more than 90%. In its quest to identify the next generation product, the Taiwan government has chosen WiMAX to open a new frontier in Taiwan’s wireless industry.

Taiwan’s WiMAX initiative began in 2005, when the Science & Technology Advisory Group (STAG) of the Executive Yuan developed a “Taiwan WiMAX Blueprint” that stated that “WiMAX Technology will be the focus for the future of Taiwan’s ICT industry and the preferred technology for the delivery of M-Service, M-Learning and M-Life in the M(obile)-Taiwan Program.”

The M-Taiwan program will be instrumental in creating several metropolitan broadband wireless networks for the provision of integrated mobile services. These networks will serve as major launch- and test-pads for new technology development trials and application services.

Already, the Taiwan government has established an environment to support various aspects of the project, including setting up regulatory and policy frameworks, standardizing applied technologies, providing funding assistance, and opening up frequency spectrums. It is envisaged that the project will eventually support around eight million broadband wireless users by the year 2009.

The project took a major step forward in July 2007 with the release of a WiMAX spectrum with good physical characteristics. This pivotal development is crucial to network deployment and enabling the success of the M-Taiwan program and the subsequent commercial operation of WiMAX systems. The WiMAX operators were named as First International Telecom (FITEL), Global Mobile Corporation, Vmax Telecom, FarEasTone (FET), Tatung Telecom, and Vastar Cable TV Systems.

M-Taiwan has successfully integrated WiMAX, WLAN and cellular networks, achieving a comprehensive WiMAX ecosystem. With partners such as Alcatel-Lucent, Intel, and Sprint-Nextel, Taiwan has integrated quality WiMAX testing and certification labs. It is expected that over 90% of WiMAX CPEs are to be manufactured here, commencing the second quarter of 2009.