1990s: Entering Competition
There were two major trends in the development of telecommunications in the 1990s. The first was the popularization of telecommunications services. Thanks to advances in telecom technologies, inexpensive personal telecom devices, deregulation of the domestic telecom market, and lowered call rates, almost everyone carried a cellular phone; cell phones became a daily necessity of life. Second, integration of telecommunications and information technologies occurred. This enabled telecom carriers to provide not only communication but also information services, such as data communications and paid voice-based information services. With advances in mobile telecommunications, people had access to information anytime and anywhere.
However, with convenient telecom services offered to customers, there was also cut-throat competition among service providers. With the deregulation and liberalization of the telecommunications sector in Taiwan, the Department of Telecommunications under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications was divided into two units: Directorate General of Telecommunications and Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. Both domestic and international telecom service providers began to swarm into the domestic market, creating unprecedented competition. The 1990s marked the beginning of a new era in the history of Taiwan’s telecommunications sector, during which century-old monopolistic control was eventually transformed into a competitive market.