Taiwanese carrier Taiwan Star Telecom said that its 5G subscribers already represent 5% of the company’s overall mobile base and that it will step up its efforts to push the ratio to 10% in 2021.
Taiwan Star has attracted a total of 100,000 5G users since it began offering 5G commercial services in August.
The operator previously said that it aimed to reach a coverage of 80% with its 5G networks in Taiwan’s major metropolitan areas by the end of 2020. Taiwan Star also said it expect to expand its 5G network coverage to other cities, counties and the suburbs of these major metropolitan areas by 2023.
Taiwan Star had secured 40 megahertz in the 3.5 GHz band in a previous spectrum auction.
The carrier expected to have a total of 1,000 5G base stations by the end of the year, mostly in Taiwan’s six special municipalities.
Taiwan Star had previously selected Nokia for its NSA 5G network deployment.
In June, the government of Taiwan issued the first 5G license to Chunghwa Telecom, which paved the way for the company to launch commercial 5G offerings in July.
Rival operators Far EasTone Telecommunications, Taiwan Mobile, Taiwan Star Telecom and Asia Pacific Telecom also launched 5G services after they had secured 5G licenses.
Earlier this month, Chunghwa Telecom said that its number of 5G subscribers had already reached 300,000 and would likely rise to 500,000 by the end of this year.
So far, Chunghwa Telecom has installed more than 4,000 5G base stations.
Far EasTone had signed up about 300,000 5G subscribers since the launch of its services in July, according to recent press reports.
Taiwan Mobile has also attracted approximately 300,000 5G users. Taiwan Mobile expects that 5G users would account for 15 to 20% of its total subscribers by the end of next year, Taiwan Mobile’s president Jamie Lin said.
Taiwan Mobile previously said it expects to deploy 4,000 5G base stations by the end of 2020. Taiwan Mobile partnered with Nokia to launch its 5G network. The telco had acquired 60 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band and 200 megahertz of the 28 GHz frequency.
Asia Pacific Telecom signed up more than 100,000 5G subscribers.
The overall 5G penetration in Taiwan is expected to reach 20% in 2021 thanks to the availability of more 5G budget phones and proliferation of related 5G applications, Taiwanese news site Digitimes reported, citing industry sources.