Taiwan Star Telecom chooses Nokia as exclusive 5G provider

By Dan Oliver
published

Taiwan’s growing mobile provider Taiwan Star Telecom selects Nokia as its 5G technology partner.

(Image credit: Taiwan Star Telecom)

Taiwan Star Telecom launched in 2014, with the intention of shaking up the dominance of the top three mobile telecoms companies in the country – Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone Telecommunications.

And today, Taiwan Star Telecom (TST), took a step closer to launching its 5G service with the announcement that Nokia will supply the company with its end-to-end AirScale Radio Access network portfolio, enabling the operator to launch 5G non-standalone (NSA) networks, providing the foundations for 5G standalone (SA) in the future. 

“Everything that Taiwan Star has achieved in this dynamic market is the result of our company core values that outline what a unique mobile service provider could be,” said Cliff Lai (pictured), President of Taiwan Star. “We are proud to continue working with Nokia who will support us and help us to realize our ambition and deliver 5G services to our subscribers country-wide.”

Taiwan Star Telecom takes on top three

In March Taiwan Star Telecom launched an aggressively priced “early bird” package, offering 4G plans for NT$599 (US$19.94) with unlimited data, and the ability to upgrade to 5G once services launch. Nokia previously installed TST’s LTE 4G network for the company’s two million subscribers, which will now be migrated to 5G services utilizing Nokia’s AirScale BTS and AirScale Radio Access solutions. 

“We are delighted to have reached this significant milestone with our long-standing partner Taiwan Star, demonstrating its confidence in our global end-to-end portfolio,” said Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia. “I look forward to working closely with Taiwan Star Telecom to help upgrade its network and deliver incredible 5G experiences to its subscribers across the country.”

Nokia will be the only supplier in this deal, and its AirScale massive MIMO solution will be also be supplied, offering comprehensive coverage. TST recently secured 40 MHz of bandwidth and is already underway with the initial phase of network deployment. Early deployment will see 126 commercial districts and retail zones covered which is expected to be completed by Q320 with 80 percent of metropolitan areas covered by 2023.


Dan Oliver
Dan Oliver

Dan is a British journalist with 20 years of experience in the design and tech sectors, producing content for the likes of Microsoft, Adobe, Dell and The Sunday Times. In 2012 he helped launch the world's number one design blog, Creative Bloq. Dan is now editor-in-chief at 5Gradar, where he oversees news, insight and reviews, providing an invaluable resource for anyone looking to stay up-to-date with the key issues facing 5G.