Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan has advanced a proposed amendment to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act in committee, a move the market sees as a key policy step toward allowing international satellite communications providers such as SpaceX’s Starlink to operate in Taiwan.
Case-by-case approval for satellite network operators
The draft amendment to Article 36, Paragraph 9 would give the competent authority the power to grant special approvals to applicants building networks through satellite communications. With that approval, they would not be bound by current rules requiring the responsible person to hold Republic of China nationality, or by the foreign ownership caps of 49% for direct holdings and 60% for combined holdings.
At the same time, regulators would still need to examine seven conditions when granting approval, including national security, public telecommunications network security, use of telecom resources, overall telecom network planning, development of the telecom industry and service market, and public interest needs. The amendment is aimed at loosening long-standing barriers to foreign investment and creating a more flexible legal framework for low-earth-orbit satellite operators to establish a lawful presence in Taiwan.
Major telecom carriers back the direction, with conditions
Taiwan’s three major telecom operators — Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone Telecommunications — all said they support and respect the amendment’s direction. Each also called for safeguards tied to national security, data sovereignty and domestic regulatory mechanisms.
Chunghwa Telecom said it has long invested across geostationary, medium-earth-orbit and low-earth-orbit satellite systems as part of a multi-layer resilient network spanning sea, land, satellite and air. The company said participation by international operators could strengthen backup capacity for disaster response and emergency communications, and could also help connect Taiwan’s local supply chain in satellite terminals and networking equipment to overseas markets.
Taiwan Mobile said international satellite operators should be allowed to enter the market only if industrial governance, data sovereignty and user privacy receive the highest level of protection. Far EasTone said legal rules should include supporting measures proposed by academics and experts, such as data localization, ground receiving stations and cooperation with local operators.
Academics point to Japan’s model
The Taiwan Communications Society said stronger communications resilience should not come at the cost of weaker state oversight. It warned that without parallel mechanisms for communications monitoring, anti-fraud enforcement, cybersecurity and market exit, long-term governance risks could rise.
Wang Wei-ching, chair of the Taiwan Communications Society, said satellite services can cross borders, but legal responsibility cannot, and that the government must retain the ability to supervise and intervene in emergencies. The group suggested Taiwan look at Japan’s experience, including direct-to-cell satellite services offered through partnerships between Starlink and KDDI, NTT DOCOMO and SoftBank, using a conditional and phased regulatory approach.
The society also said international operators should in principle establish a legal entity in Taiwan capable of assuming responsibility. If services involve direct-to-cell connections or use Taiwan’s mobile spectrum or numbering resources, cooperation with locally licensed telecom operators should be mandatory, along with a domestic ground station or an equivalent node.
Local supply-chain names draw attention
Expectations of looser rules have already had an effect on Taiwan’s low-earth-orbit satellite theme in equities and among local component suppliers. Networking company D-Link recently confirmed that it had secured a project order for dedicated switches used in low-earth-orbit satellite network data exchange nodes, marking its entry into the Starlink supply chain.
The hardware is expected to begin shipping in September this year, with first-year shipments estimated at 20,000 units and the full project totaling 50,000 units. The report said D-Link shares hit the daily limit for three straight trading sessions following the supply-chain news and investor interest in the low-earth-orbit satellite theme.
