Future Nokia base stations will adopt Nvidia ARC, integrating Grace CPUs with Blackwell GPUs, as part of a long-term collaboration between the two companies on 5G and 6G base station chips. The AI-RAN platform can leverage idle RAN assets to support edge AI services, allowing base stations to perform AI inference computations while providing communication services.
Since its debut in 2009, Nvidia's GTC has been held in San Jose, California. Over the years, the conference has expanded to Japan, China, Taiwan, Germany, and other countries as technology and markets have evolved. The main highlight remains CEO Jensen Huang's two-hour keynote speech. This year, however, Nvidia held an additional event in Washington, DC, sparking speculation about Huang's next moves for the industry.
Digital transformation solutions integrator International Integrated Systems (IISI) held a pre-IPO performance briefing on October 28, announcing plans to list in November. The company aims to fuel its next growth phase through cloud-native SaaS offerings, transitioning toward a subscription-based revenue model built on long-term partnerships while actively expanding into overseas markets.
As the global digital transformation accelerates, 5G has become a critical foundation driving comprehensive upgrades across industries. However, its revolutionary potential remains largely untapped. Ericsson CTO Erik Ekudden and industry consultant Chetan Sharma recently jointly released a report titled "New Wave of Mobile Innovation," revealing that only 26% of operators worldwide invest in 5G standalone (SA) networks, with over 90% of SA users concentrated in China, India, and the US. This concentration leaves other regions significantly behind in next-generation digital infrastructure competition.
With Amazon's low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite broadband network Project Kuiper expected to enter Taiwan, with Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) and Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) actively competing for the agency rights, the efforts and competition among Taiwanese telecom operators in the satellite industry have drawn significant attention.
Amazon's low-Earth-orbit satellite network, Project Kuiper, may soon land in Taiwan, where competition among local telecom operators is intensifying. Reports suggest Far EasTone Telecom holds an early advantage because it controls 28 GHz spectrum bands compatible with Kuiper's technology.
Automotive electronics manufacturer THN grabbed a Top Innovation Technology Award here on October 23 at the Future Innovation Technology Expo (FIX 2025) for its breakthrough transparent antenna technology. Dubbed 'FlexClear,' the system aims to enable high-speed, low-latency 5G and 6G connectivity for vehicles without using traditional external antennas. THN was one of nine top winners among thirty companies honored at the Daegu event.
Taiwan's offshore wind maritime engineering firm Dong Fang Offshore (DFO) is set to transition from the over-the-counter (OTC) market to the Taiwan Stock Exchange mainboard in mid-November 2025. The company is rapidly expanding its fleet to capture strong growth opportunities in AI-fueled undersea communication cable demand.
Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) announced on October 21 the establishment of its AI subsidiary, CHT InventAI, marking another success in internal startup incubation within the group. CHT chairman Alex Chien said InventAI's launch is just the first step, with at least two more subsidiaries currently in preparation to accelerate the commercialization of technologies from in-house researchers and expand the industrial ecosystem.
Taiwan's economy is experiencing a dramatic surge fueled by its dominant position in global semiconductor manufacturing and the artificial intelligence boom. The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) recently revised Taiwan's 2025 GDP growth forecast upward to 5.45%, citing strong demand in semiconductors and AI driving investment and exports. However, this impressive growth has exposed a widening economic divide, with legislators arguing that gains are concentrated almost entirely in the electronics, AI, and memory sectors while traditional industries struggle to keep pace.
Homeplus Digital hit a record high in broadband subscriptions in the third quarter of 2025, largely driven by the addition of the international streaming brand Disney+, which significantly boosted broadband service applications during the quarter.
Apple's iPhone Air, the first smartphone in China without a physical SIM slot, ushers in the country's long-awaited eSIM era. But despite the milestone, eSIM adoption in China remains stuck in a testing phase. Regulatory limits, cumbersome activation steps, cross-province restrictions, and complicated device transfers continue to frustrate users, highlighting the gap between technological readiness and policy execution.
The global push toward 6G and non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) is reshaping the future of communications. As low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology matures and costs decline, a new era of high-resilience global connectivity is emerging—one that Taiwan is moving quickly to embrace.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) announced that Taiwan's government-driven push for 5G private networks and dedicated spectrum has benefited more than 100 enterprises as of September 2025. By significantly reducing frequency usage fees to incentivize site owners, the initiative supports innovative applications despite skepticism about the 4.8-4.9GHz band and the development of 5G O-RAN technology.
Airoha Technology has continued to secure new collaboration opportunities in the international telecom market in 2025, with some of its previously developed markets now entering mass production and shipment phases, driving steady growth in its overall revenue. The company has also integrated MediaTek's Wi-Fi chips into its solutions.
The Taiwan Innotech Expo (TIE) opened on October 16, spotlighting over 1,000 innovative technologies with a strong focus on AI. The event continues the theme of major 2025 exhibitions by emphasizing Taiwan's critical role in the global technology value chain.
Taiwan's leading telecom operators posted strong operational performances in September 2025, driven by the sales surge from the new iPhone 17 launch, ongoing 5G user upgrades, and rising ARPU (average revenue per user). This momentum lifted revenues and profits across the board.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) is actively advancing low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite business development, with Minister Yi-Jing Lin revealing on October 15 at the Legislative Yuan's Transportation Committee that aside from Chunghwa Telecom (CHT)'s OneWeb, talks are also underway for collaboration with Amazon Web Services' (AWS) LEO satellite service Kuiper. Far EasTone Telecommunications (FET) is likely to become Kuiper's commercial operator in Taiwan.
China Mobile announced at its global partner conference in Guangzhou that it plans to exclusively use domestically produced chips across the country's largest artificial intelligence (AI) computing network by 2028. The move seeks to accelerate AI autonomy and reduce reliance on foreign technology amid growing geopolitical tensions.
Digital transformation solutions integrator International Integrated Systems (IISI) reported September 2025 revenue of NT$649 million (US$21.3 million), up 122.49% year-over-year. For January to September 2025, cumulative revenue reached NT$3.248 billion, a 15.97% increase from the prior year. Third quarter 2025 revenue rose 29.61% quarter-over-quarter and 58.67% year-over-year.
At the geopolitics forum of SEMICON West 2025, corporate government affairs executives from Arm Holdings, ASML, Entegris, Intel, and Lam Research all presented policy recommendations in relation to US strategies to compete with China. All attendees unanimously agreed that policy consistency and continuity are the most urgent areas for improvement.
Universal Microwave Technology (UMT), a manufacturer of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite and high-frequency communications components, has benefited from the continued advancement of major international satellite projects and growing demand for high-frequency communication components and waveguide modules.
The launch for the next-generation optical communication infrastructure, IOWN (Innovative Optical and Wireless Network), led by Japanese telecom group NTT, is scheduled for 2026. The production system for core equipment will involve US semiconductor company Broadcom, Japanese IC substrate manufacturer Shinko Electric Industries, and Taiwan-based Accton.
Benefiting from rising demand for AI servers and high-speed interconnects, Taiwan's JPC Connectivity expressed cautious optimism for the second half of 2025 and into 2026 during its September 30, 2025, earnings call. The company expects continued growth driven by the automotive, industrial control, and robotics sectors next year.
