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Taiwan Mobile ups 5G investment by 75%
The Taiwan Mobile board last month approved a 75% hike in 5G spending to around NT$14 billion (US$486.8 million), part of a 41% increase in total capex to NT$20.4 billion ($708 million) for this financial year.

Taiwan Mobile CEO Jamie Lin said the company had decided to accelerate its rollout because of the "smoother than expected" debut of 5G three months ago and positive user response, The China Times reported.

He said new 5G subs had increased 20% in August over July, and he believed the expected arrival of the 5G iPhone later this year would drive a wave of 5G adoption. He noted that this year would be the peak year for 5G capex, with investment next year "much lower."
The other key factor would be to catch up with Chunghwa Telecom's aggressive rollout.

Chunghwa Chairman and CEO Chi-Mau Shieh said 5G "is definitely the top priority next year."

The operator expects to reach its target of 10,000 base stations deployed by the end of next year, completing the original five-year plan within three years and achieving coverage of 99% of the population, Taiwan's Economic Daily News reported. The ramped-up Taiwan rollouts are the latest in a spate of accelerated 5G investments in Asia this year, most for very different reasons.