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Friday 15 May 2026

Fiber shortage deepens as orders for Chinese vendors extend to 2027

The global optical fiber market is shifting from a traditional telecom cycle into a new phase of structural shortage, driven by rapid AI infrastructure expansion and dense cloud data center construction. Prices and capacity are rising together as demand for fiber, a core material for data transmission, keeps climbing.

Friday 15 May 2026

Interview: The 6G clock is ticking — and Ericsson wants Taiwan in its corner

The global mobile standards race has moved into the 6G prelude, with Ericsson saying the first fully implementable 6G specification is expected as early as March 2029. In an exclusive interview with DIGITIMES, Marie Hogan, who leads the 6G portfolio strategy for Ericsson's global networks business, said 3GPP is pushing ahead with 6G standardization as the industry weighs the technology's AI-native design, uplink demands, and migration path from 5G.

Thursday 14 May 2026

Cisco accelerates AI push with Silicon One gains and major restructuring plan

Cisco Systems reported record fiscal third-quarter results for fiscal 2026, surpassing its own financial guidance, driven by triple-digit order growth from hyperscale cloud providers. The company significantly raised its full-year outlook for AI-related infrastructure orders. It announced a major restructuring plan to reallocate human and financial resources toward high-growth technologies, including proprietary silicon and optics.

Tuesday 12 May 2026

Taiwan's cybersecurity market shifts toward managed services as ransomware pressure mounts

For many Taiwanese businesses, cybersecurity still means buying a router and moving on. That gap between perception and exposure has become expensive — and increasingly hard to ignore. Speaking at CYBERSEC 2026 in Taipei, executives from Zyxel Group subsidiaries Zyxel Networks and Zyell Solutions described an industry in transition: from one-time hardware purchases toward continuous managed protection, and from conventional encryption toward systems designed to withstand quantum-era threats.

Monday 11 May 2026

Gemtek posts first-quarter loss as it pivots to 800G and 1.6T optical modules

Gemtek Technology reported consolidated revenue of NT$3.112 billion (US$99.1 million) in the first quarter and a gross margin of 10.4%, but swung to a net loss as strategic restructuring and raw material pressure hit results, the firm announced. The networking equipment maker recorded an operating loss of NT$205 million, a net loss of NT$131 million, and earnings per share of NT$0.32, while April revenue declined 23.21% year on year to NT$1.149 billion.

Monday 11 May 2026

Taiwan targets three key sectors in upcoming 6G era

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has launched a new next-generation communications program under its A+ Industrial Innovative R&D Program, aiming to steer company research toward 6G networks, non-terrestrial networks (NTN), and all-photonics networks (APN). The move follows the Executive Yuan's Five Trusted Industry Sectors push launched in May 2024, and its Next-Generation Communications Technology Development Program announced in July 2025.

Thursday 7 May 2026

Sporton posts six-quarter high profit as FCC rule changes boost Taiwan testing demand

Sporton posted consolidated revenue of NT$1.191 billion (US$37.98 million) in the first quarter of 2026, with a gross margin of 47% and net profit after tax of NT$302 million, up 4.3% year on year, the firm announced. Earnings per share were NT$2.97, up 4.21%, as strong testing demand for 5G flagship phones, AI PCs, and enterprise-grade commercial access points lifted revenue and pushed profit to its highest level in six quarters.

Thursday 7 May 2026

Memory hikes slow telecom orders, but network chipmakers stay upbeat

Network infrastructure demand in 2026 remains broadly positive as telecom operators in Europe and the US prepare for future AI use cases. Chipmakers say the growth is not just about spec upgrades, but a full-scale overhaul of network infrastructure.

Thursday 7 May 2026

EU joins telecom coalition as 6G rivalry with China intensifies

The European Union has become the first strategic partner of the Global Coalition on Telecommunications, or GCOT, expanding a Western-led telecom policy framework as governments seek to shape next-generation network infrastructure and the race toward 6G.

Wednesday 6 May 2026

RichWave sees Wi-Fi 7 growth outrunning memory price pressure

Radio frequency (RF) front-end chip maker RichWave said on May 4 that Wi-Fi 7 momentum will remain very strong in the first quarter of 2026, even as rising memory and component costs squeeze profitability and cloud order visibility. The company said memory-driven price increases are affecting the broader networking industry, but the impact on its 2026 growth will be limited.

Tuesday 5 May 2026

Taiwan networking vendors lose sync with global rebound, raising competitive and supply risks

The global broadband customer premises equipment market entered a bottoming-and-rebound phase in 2026 after a prolonged inventory correction. Still, Taiwan networking vendors are losing ground as their shipments move out of step with broader market trends, according to a DIGITIMES Research report. The divergence carries implications for market share, pricing power, and supply-chain exposure.

Monday 4 May 2026

AI memory crunch squeezes 5G FWA market

DIGITIMES' latest report says the global 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) customer premises equipment (CPE) market posted its first year-on-year shipment decline in the first quarter of 2026, with shipments of 2.835 million units, down 8.7%. The impact has likely passed its peak, however, as shipments are forecast to rebound to 3.24 million units in the second quarter of 2026, with the annual decline narrowing to 4%.

Wednesday 29 April 2026

FCC expands ban on non-US networking devices, raising supply chain pressure

The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has further clarified restrictions on non-US network equipment by officially including mobile hotspots, portable Wi-Fi devices, and home customer-premises equipment (CPE) using LTE/5G connections in its sales ban. This move signals that the US is extending its national security-driven tech controls from fixed broadband gear to mobile network terminals.

Monday 27 April 2026

Taiwan networking firms set for 11% Q2 growth as Wi-Fi 7 gains traction

Global Wi-Fi router shipments are increasingly driven by telecom operators' upgrade cycles and tender deployments rather than consumer demand, with traditional seasonality continuing to weaken. Since 2025, the market has shown a pattern of weaker peak seasons and firmer off-seasons.

Sunday 26 April 2026

Harman hits KRW15.78 trillion in revenue 10 years after Samsung acquisition

Samsung Electronics executive chairman Lee Jae-yong's bold acquisition of premium audio brand Harman for KRW9.4 trillion (approx. US$6.3 billion) a decade ago has paid off, with the American subsidiary of Samsung posting historic highs in both revenue and operating profit.

Wednesday 22 April 2026

AI optical communication and automotive demand boost TXC, Taitien quartz component sales in 1Q26

Benefiting from strong AI high-frequency, high-speed transmission and communications infrastructure demand, TXC reported robust AI optical communication orders in the first quarter of 2026, driving its highest-ever quarterly revenue. The company's March 2026 revenue reached NT$1.1 billion (approx. US$35.3 million), up 2.7% year-over-year; cumulative revenue for the first three months of 2026 hit NT$3.3 billion, a 5.5% annual increase and a record for this period.

Wednesday 22 April 2026

US FCC router rules rattle industry, but Taiwan vendors see silver lining

A new US regulatory push to scrutinize foreign-made consumer routers on national security grounds is raising questions across the global networking industry. Yet for Taiwan's key equipment vendors, the immediate outlook for 2026 appears largely stable, with some even anticipating short-term margin benefits.

Monday 20 April 2026

Taiwan's Homeplus turns to free streaming to tap FAST TV growth as OTT market saturates

Taiwan's leading cable TV operator, Homeplus Digital, has entered the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST TV) market through its subsidiary Global Digital Media with the launch of the "Waqu TV" platform, aiming to capture growing demand for no-subscription viewing as the island's paid over-the-top (OTT) sector nears saturation.

Sunday 19 April 2026

Amazon acquisition highlights growing race in satellite communications

Amazon's move to acquire satellite communications operator Globalstar for approximately US$11.57 billion is widely seen as a step toward deeper consolidation in the satellite industry, while signaling a broader structural shift—from traditional broadband services toward direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity.

Saturday 18 April 2026

VLSI TSA 2026 explores quantum architecture and AI healthcare innovations

The 2026 International Symposium on VLSI Technology, Systems and Applications (VLSI TSA) kicked off on April 14, gathering over 800 semiconductor professionals worldwide. The conference focused on next-generation core areas including GenAI inference acceleration, wafer-level computing, and terahertz wireless communication, while also delving into quantum computer system architectures and extending the reach of semiconductors to AI-driven cardiac analysis and other smart healthcare applications.

Thursday 16 April 2026

Kbro enters 10G era with NT$10 billion investment, advocates heterogeneous network backup to replace price wars

Taiwan's Kbro Broadband on April 15 unveiled its next-generation 10G broadband service, backed by a planned NT$10 billion (approx. US$316.45 million) investment to upgrade network infrastructure nationwide, marking a decisive step into the 10G era and a strategic push to reposition cable networks at the core of Taiwan's digital resilience.

Wednesday 15 April 2026

Amazon to acquire Globalstar for US$11.6 billion, escalating space internet race

Amazon said on April 14 it would acquire Globalstar for US$90 a share, in a deal valued at about US$11.57 billion, accelerating its push into space-based communications and sharpening its competition with SpaceX in the race to deliver internet and mobile connectivity from orbit.

Wednesday 15 April 2026

CyberTAN post strong 1Q26 growth on improved product mix

CyberTAN, a networking hardware maker, reported strong revenue growth in March 2026, supported by a stronger product mix and solid shipment contributions. Consolidated revenue reached NT$374 million, up 30.9% year-over-year, while first-quarter 2026 revenue totaled NT$1.112 billion, a 27.85% increase from the same period a year earlier.

Friday 10 April 2026

Ampak cites DDR price swings disrupting orders, sees industrial control demand support

Ampak Technology's focus on Wi-Fi 7, 5G RedCap, SoM modules, AIoT, and Edge AI signals strategic shifts with global implications: customers worldwide may see delayed consumer shipments amid DDR memory price volatility, while industrial control demand offers clearer near-term opportunities, affecting supply chains and product rollouts through 2026 and beyond.

Friday 10 April 2026

MediaTek builds an end-to-end challenge to Qualcomm and Broadcom

In recent years, MediaTek has steadily increased its influence in the global Wi-Fi chip market. Its market share gains have been driven not only by continued growth on the consumer side, but also by a strategic push into the telecom operator segment — where the company is securing fresh business across Europe and North America.

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