On November 27, 2013, the National Communications Commission (NCC) in their 567th Committee Resolution determined the 2014 retail rates of the eight cable television providers (which includes two companies that provide broadcast systems for cable television programs) for Tainan City, Chiayi City, Penghu County, Kinmen County, and Lienchiang County (Matsu Islands). The NCC determined that Tainan City’s Twin Stars and Sun Crown would continue to have their 2013 retail rates, which were both set at 480NT. Both HYA Cable TV and NT CATV had their retail rates increased by 5NT, which set their rates at 515NT and 510NT, respectively.
The NCC expressed that digitalization statistics for Tainan City’s HYA Cable TV are impressive, which makes them a model company for other providers to follow. The commission also stated that HYA Cable TV developed a simple-to-use remote control that is especially helpful for elderly customers. HYA Cable TV also provides every household with two digital adapters (or set-top boxes) free of charge. Therefore, the NCC increased retail rates by 5NT and set HYA Cable TV’s 2014 basic stations retail rate at 515NT.
NT CATV’s digitalization results were lower than all other cable TV providers in the municipality area of Tainan, and only this year has the company’s digitalization results been close to that of other cable TV providers. NT CATV also developed its own easy-to-use controller. The company offers 34 high definition stations and it provides customers with a variety of plans and viewing options. Therefore, the NCC raised the retail rate of NT CATV by 5NT and set its 2014 basic stations retail rate at 510NT, which was also the company’s retail rate in 2012.
The NCC took into consideration that Tainan City’s Twin Stars and Sun Crown have both reached digitalization goals that they promised to meet. By the end of September for this year Twin Stars’ digitalization percentage was 47.75% whereas Sun Crown was at 49.22%. Both cable TV providers will have the same retail rates as 2013, which means their retail rates will both be set at 480NT.
The NCC stated that the standards used for determining retail rates for this Committee Resolution were based on cable television providers’ quality of cable television services offered; how developed the area is that the provider’s operations are located in; economic differences between urban and rural areas; population density, income averages, and employment rates of area; the amount of stations a provider offers as well as the quality of these stations; and the percentage of the area that has installed digital systems. All these above factors are considered together whenever retail rates are determined. The NCC determined that basic stations retail rates can be anywhere from 480NT to 575NT.