1980s: A Decade of Rapid Changes and Diversity in Telecommunications
The 1980s comprised a decade of rapid changes in telecommunications. Besides new electronic information technology that dramatically changed the landscape of telecommunications technology and improved the quality and quantity of telecom services, changes in values and concepts also began to challenge the monopolistic nature of the telecom sector. A wave of deregulation and liberalization spread all over the world. AT&T in America, BT in England, NTT in Japan, and DACOM in Korea all began to undertake structural reorganization or privatization. These global developments also contributed to qualitative changes in Taiwan’s telecom sector.
Customers benefited the most from the changes. The invention of mobile communications devices, such as display devices and mobile phones, facilitated communications between people and changed the way of life for all. The number of telephone users continued to grow rapidly. On April 10, 1982, the number of telephone sets in Taiwan exceeded 4 million, and then 5 million in 1984. By May 1990, the total number of phone subscribers exceeded 6 million. These figures heralded the booming development of the telecom industry in the 1990s.