Taiwan's telecom market has now consolidated into three main service providers—Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), Taiwan Mobile (TWM), and Far EasTone (FET), after FET's merger with Asia Pacific Telecom and TWM's merger with T-Star. Although CHT took the top market spot, financial data from the National Communications Commission (NCC) for the first quarter of 2025 showed that the three providers display different trajectories in terms of revenue, profitability, and user base.
According to NCC data, the Taiwan Mobile–T-Star merger led in terms of profitability, while a more streamlined user base after the Far EasTone–Asia Pacific Telecom merger has led to an average revenue per user (ARPU) of NT$513.1 (approx. US$17.6), surpassing even the NT$512.7 of Chunghwa Telecom.
Chunghwa Telecom: Leader in market share and revenue
Chunghwa Telecom has continued to dominate, with its share of the mobile telecom market above 40% for seven consecutive quarters, and continues to increase.
In terms of user numbers, the company accounted for 39.09% of the total user base, up from 38.02% in the previous quarter, even though the actual number of users dropped slightly to 11.26 million. Despite the dip in user numbers, Chunghwa Telecom has continued to lead its competitors with consistently high APRU and market share.
Taiwan Mobile: Solidifying runner-up position in market
Taiwan Mobile has seen steady performance after its merger with T-Star, with both market share and user numbers increasing in the first quarter of 2025. Its mobile telecom user base of 9.38 million puts it at a solid second in the market.
Although post-merger revenue and user numbers have trended lower than pre-merger levels, with revenue for the first quarter of 2025 in particular dropping sequentially by 14.22%, gross margin, operating profit margin, and pre-tax profit margin remain above the levels in the fourth quarter of 2023 when the merger was finalized. These figures show that the merger has led to improved management efficiency.
Furthermore, Taiwan Mobile has led its competitors in the first five months of 2025 in terms of year-over-year growth in total revenue, operating profit in its core telecom business, and net income after tax, according to earlier comments by company CFO and spokesperson George Chang.
For the first quarter of 2025, Taiwan Mobile saw operating profit in its telecom business reach a 7-year high with a 30% year-over-year improvement, while net income after tax also grew by 23% year-over-year. Mobile telecom revenue grew by 2% year-over-year to NT$16.24 billion (approx. US$556 million), while smartphone ARPU also saw a steady rise.
Far EasTone: Slimming down and surging APRU
Far EasTone has sought quality over quantity post-merger, with both market share and user numbers falling in the first quarter of 2025. According to the company, the substantial drop of 881,073 users was the result of clearing non-contributing and duplicate accounts and cooperating with the government's anti-fraud measures.
Even though Far EasTone saw drops in both total user numbers and 4G subscribers, its 5G network users increased by roughly 160,000. At its earlier shareholder meeting, the company announced plans to achieve 50% 5G penetration by the end of the year, with 5G subscribers surpassing 4G user numbers.
The drop in user numbers did not impact Far EasTone's bottom line, however, as gross margin, operating profit, and pre-tax profit margin all rose in the first quarter of 2025 to above pre-merger levels. In particular, since the drop in user numbers was not met with a decline in revenue, the company saw its ARPU surge to NT$513.1, surpassing even Chunghwa Telecom's NT$512.7.
With this development, both Far EasTone and Chunghwa Telecom can now be considered in the high-price segment of the market, while Taiwan Mobile has carved out a separate niche with an ARPU of NT$448.1.
Since the telecom mergers took effect, each company has seen fluctuations in both mobile communications market share and user numbers. However, long-term observations will still be needed to draw conclusions regarding any post-merger impacts.
Article edited by Jack Wu
