NCC boycott may nix iPhone launch

DYSFUNCTION?
The manufacturer needs to apply for a permit to import the iPhone 16 and it needs to be approved by the commissioners, an official said

• By Shelley Shan /
  Staff reporter

A sweeping boycott by opposition lawmakers of National Communications Commission (NCC) nominees could lead to dysfunction at the regulator and delay the launch of the iPhone 16 in Taiwan later this year, an agency official said.

The Executive Yuan on Tuesday last week announced four nominees for the seven-member commission to replace outgoing commissioners whose terms are to end on July 31.

NCC Deputy Chairman Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗), whose term expires in July, was nominated to be the agency’s new chairman, while National Taiwan Normal University Graduate Institute of Mass Communication professor Chen Ping-hung (陳炳宏) was nominated as the new vice chairman.

Shih Hsin University communications management assistant professor Lo Huei-wen (羅慧雯) and NCC Department of Platform and Business Director Chan I-Lien (詹懿廉) were nominated as commissioners.

Three of the outgoing NCC members are NCC Chairman Chen Yaw-shyang (陳耀祥), and NCC commissioners Lin Li-yun (林麗雲) and Wang Wei-ching (王維菁).

Whether the regulator can function after July is in question after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers on Tuesday rejected a bill to advance the government’s nominations of four new members of the NCC.

Although the National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that commissioners can remain in their posts until the day before new commissioners take office, Chen Yaw-shyang, Lin and Wang have all indicated that they would return to their teaching positions at universities when they finish their terms.

The KMT caucus has said it would propose an amendment to the act that would not extend the four outgoing commissioners’ terms.

“We would respect the lawmakers as it is their authority to propose an amendment to the National Communications Commission Organization Act,” Wong said. “However, the commissioners would not be able to make any decision if the number of commissioners attending the weekly conference fails to meet the legal threshold.”

At least four of the seven commissioners must be present at the weekly meeting for the agency to issue rulings, the act says.

The commission would be left with only three members if none of the outgoing commissioners wants to stay after their terms end, or if their terms cannot be extended beyond July.

The launch of new telecom products could be affected as well, Wong said.

“Devices equipped with radio frequency functions, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, must have certificates of conformity from the NCC before they can be sold in Taiwan. To import an iPhone 16, which has yet to secure such a certificate, the manufacturer must first apply for a permit to import, which must be confirmed and approved at the commissioners’ meeting,” he said.

Meanwhile, the commissioners need to authorize their staff to issue the certificates if the devices meet a minimum set of regulatory, technical and safety requirements, the NCC said, adding that the new commissioners would have to renew such authorization after taking office.