NCC Chairman Su Yeong-chin unveiled the plan yesterday in response to recommendations made by the European Chamber of Commerce Taipei (ECCT) for the one-year old commission to take a strong public stance on the issue of electromagnetic radiation.

The hazards of electromagnetic radiation emitted from cell phones, base stations, and wireless Internet devices such as notebook computers have been the subject of widespread debate in Taiwan.

In particular, the removal of base stations from residential areas have ignited debate between environmentalists who believe in the inherent hazards of electromagnetic radiation and telecommunications corporations who insist that testing has proven the level of radiation to be safe.

ECCT said in its white paper that government authorities should think through the implications of shutting down or relocating base stations on the development of telecommunications infrastructure.

In response, Su said during a ECCT monthly luncheon that the NCC will control the total number of base stations in Taiwan.

He added that the NCC will expand environmental testing on base stations for electromagnetic radiation.

Meanwhile, the NCC revealed in its annual plan for 2006 a goal to have all regular television sets in Taiwan be replaced by digital TVs by 2010 or earlier.

The commission is already considering issuing new licenses for digital TV channels and scheduling the digitization of cable TV channels.

However, telecommunications industry executives criticized the slow pace of the NCC’s plan and said that Taiwan currently lags behind other countries in the region in terms of promoting digital technology.

“NCC should not make strong policies, more education is needed for the development of digital services in Taiwan,” said Su.

The role of NCC has been the subject of debate since its inception one year ago as the commission is organizationally separated from the Executive Yuan.

The constitutionality of the NCC had been questioned but later settled on a Grand Justices’ ruling that cited the ROC constitution’s guarantee of the freedom of speech.

The NCC, which was formed with the principle purpose of regulating the media, also was the center of controversy over the selection of its nine original commissioners between the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the Kuomintang.

In the luncheon yesterday, ECCT also announced that the government had taken steps to stamp out trademark infringement among hotels, betel nut stands, and even dentist offices.

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