Licenses for local telephone and integrated services are valid for 25 years. Licenses for domestic long distance and international long distance telephone services are valid for 20 years. Licenses for leased line services are valid for 15 years. If the service provider wishes to continue operating, the service provider needs to apply for a license renewal to the National Communications Commission between nine months and six months before the expiration of their license. The minimum paid- in capital requirements for integrated services providers that applied for a license before June 30, 2004, between July 1, 2004 and January 31, 2008 and on or after February 1, 2008 are NT$21 billion, NT$8.4 billion and NT$6.4 billion, respectively. The minimum paid-in capital requirements for both domestic and international long distance telephone service providers that applied for a license between July 1, 2004 and January 31, 2008 and on or after February 1, 2008 are NT$1.05 billion and NT$800 million, respectively. The minimum paid-in capital requirements for international undersea leased cable service providers that applied for a license before June 30, 2004, between July 1, 2004 and January 31, 2008 and on or after February 1, 2008 are NT$420 million, NT$420 million and NT$320 million, respectively. The minimum paid-in capital requirement for local telephone service providers that applied for a license between July 1, 2004 and January 31, 2008 and on or after February 1, 2008 are NT$6.3 billion and NT$4.8 billion, respectively, multiplied by the Local Network Operation Weights for the regions in which local network managerial rights have been granted to the service provider. The Local Network Operation Weights are calculated as the population of the region as a proportion of the entire population of Taiwan and are announced by the competent authority every three years. If an applicant for license is also a Type I service provider, they will need to combine the minimum paid-in-capital requirements for all relevant services. 

In March 2000, the government granted three new concessions to fixed line services providers for integrated services. Recipients of these concessions are required to apply for a network construction permit to deploy broadband local access networks. Each recipient of these concessions is required to have capacity for 150,000 customers before they are able to apply for a fixed line license to launch their proposed services. The three fixed line service providers have since obtained fixed line licenses and are required to achieve capacity for one million customers by the sixth year following the date of the grant of the network construction permit awarded. Operators that applied for integrated service provider licenses before June 30, 2004, between July 1, 2004 and January 31, 2008 and on or after February 1, 2008 must achieve a capacity for 1.0 million, 0.4 million and 0.3 million customers, ports or a combination of both, respectively, by the fourth year following the date of the grant of the network construction permit. 

Wireless Services. Under the Telecommunications Act, the Wireless Regulations promulgated by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications before March 1, 2006 or by the National Communications Commission from March 1, 2006 continue to govern the issuance of wireless services licenses and the business scope of wireless service providers. Wireless service licenses are subdivided into the following categories: 

● mobile services; 

● paging services; 

● mobile data services; 

● digital low-power cordless telephone services; and 

● trunked radio services. 

Wireless service licenses are granted to both regional and national service providers through review and bidding procedures. 

Wireless services licenses for mobile and paging services are valid for 15 years, and licenses for mobile data, digital low-power cordless telephone and trunked radio are valid for ten years. The minimum paid-in capital requirement for regional mobile service providers and national mobile service providers is NT$2 billion and NT$6 billion, respectively. 

