WiMAX System Integration Company Closes Shop

Taipei, July 27, 2011 (CENS)--The government's effort to support the development of WiMAX industry in Taiwan appears to encounter a major setback, as Huiliu Co. (literal translation), a government-sponsored WiMAX system integration firm, has been shut down less than one year after its establishment.

This is another failure on the part of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in pushing the establishment of an industrial integration company, following the aborted plan for the setup of an integrated DRAM company. The MOEA, though, reiterated its firm support for the WiMAX industry yesterday (July 26), saying the WiMAX system integration firm will make a fresh start at an opportune time.

The suspension of the operation of Huiliu was resolved by the company's board of directors one month ago, since the company's management could not put forward a feasible business model winning investments by Intel and NEC and the support of domestic WiMAX firms. The company's major shareholders are semi-official Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and the Institute of Information Industry (III).

An MOEA official in charge pointed out that Huiliu's board of directors will seek a new management team to reorganize the company for making a fresh start. “The government remains firm in supporting the WiMAX industry, since it still takes a long time for LTE, a rivaling 4G mobile-phone technology, to become mature.”

Despite reduction of Intel in its engagement in WiMAX last year, the MOEA has stood by its commitment to the WiMAX industry, due to lagged development of LTE and 80% of technological similarity between WiMAX and LTE.

The MOEA rolled out “action plan for the development of WiMAX industry” last year, which aims to achieve two major goals during a four-year period (2010-2013): developing Taiwan into an exemplary island for wireless broadband service worldwide and an exporter of WiMAX solutions. Huiliu is a product of the latter goal. The MOEA estimated that the program will entail an outlay of NT$6.609 billion.