The NCC recently released the latest statistics on the number of mobile base station licenses in Taiwan (as of December 2025), revealing for the first time that the total number of 5G base station licenses across Taiwan stands at 64,106, surpassing the number of 4G base station licenses. Recently, the influencer 【Emmy’s Drama Time】 posted 【Underhanded Tactics to Force Out 4G Holdouts! Is 5G Super Expensive but Slow as a Snail?】A video criticizing the “three major telecom companies for drastically reducing the number of cell towers, raking in huge profits, providing terrible service, and the NCC turning a blind eye!” has brought the issue of the number of cell towers operated by telecom companies back into the spotlight!
What is the current number of 4G/5G base station licenses in Taiwan? Are telecom operators dismantling 4G base stations to force out holdouts who refuse to switch from 4G? Here’s an analysis:
As Taiwan navigates the transition from 4G to 5G technology, the NCC recently released the latest figures on 4G and 5G base station licenses in Taiwan. The data shows a significant decline in the number of 4G base station licenses, leading to public criticism that telecom operators are using underhanded tactics to force out “holdouts” still using 4G! Below are the latest figures on mobile base station licenses in Taiwan, along with ways for 4G users to protect their interests in the face of this sharp decline in 4G base station licenses:Summary Video and Detailed Description of “The Way”:
1. What is the current number of 4G/5G base station licenses in Taiwan?
According toLatest Announcement from the NCCAccording to data as of December 31, 2025, the number of 5G base station licenses in Taiwan stood at 64,106 (52.1% of the total), while the number of 4G base station licenses was 58,905 (47.9% of the total), for a combined total of 123,011. However, based on the latest mobile broadband subscriber figures for the three major telecom operators released by the NCC, as of November 30, 2025, 4G subscribers in Taiwan still accounted for 59.1%, while 5G subscribers accounted for only 40.9%. This is exactly the reverse of the ratio of 4G to 5G base station licenses (47.9:52.1), indicating that telecom operators have been proactively laying the groundwork for 5G adoption ahead of schedule.
Looking at individual counties and cities, New Taipei City has the highest number of 5G base station licenses at 7,833. The top five counties and cities by percentage of 5G licenses are Hsinchu City (58%), Taoyuan City (56%), Chiayi City (54.9%), New Taipei City (54.6%), Taipei City (54%). The five counties and cities with the fewest 5G licenses are Kinmen County (38.3%), Taitung County (43%), Pingtung County (45.8%), Chiayi County (49.2%), and Penghu County (49.3%).
According to statistics on mobile base stations over the past six months, the number of 4G base station licenses has declined significantly since the mergers of Taiwan Mobile and Far East One were finalized at the end of 2023. The number of mobile licenses peaked at 110,930 in December 2023, but by June 2024, this number had dropped to 91,183. Since 3G base stations were reclassified as “4G General-Type Base Stations” within the 4G heterogeneous network starting in 2018, the number of 4G base station licenses has continued to decline following the shutdown of 3G signals on June 30, 2024. Effective December 31, Year 114, the count of 4G base station licenses excludes “4G General-Type Base Stations” (formerly 3G base stations). Combined with Far EasTone’s shutdown of Asia Pacific Telecom’s base stations, as of December 31, 2025, there were only 58,905 4G base station licenses remaining across Taiwan. Compared to the 71,388 licenses recorded the previous month (Y2511), the number of 4G base station licenses dropped by 17.5% in a single month.
(With the NCC currently leaderless), NCC officials may have realized that publishing the number of base stations operated by each telecom provider could cause them trouble, so they took advantage of the website redesign to remove the statistics on the number of 4G base station licenses held by each provider. Meanwhile, the three major telecom providers are celebrating joyfully.All operating metrics reached record highs in 2025Without more data to monitor the various telecom providers, who knows what concerns Taiwanese mobile users really have?!
2. Are telecom operators dismantling 4G cell towers in an effort to force out 4G holdouts?
A decrease in the number of 4G base station licenses does not mean that internet speeds or network coverage will deteriorate!
The influencer [Emmy’s Drama Time] posted [Underhanded Tactics to Force Out 4G Holdouts! Is 5G Super Expensive but Slow as a Snail?】Video: A Blunt Critique—“Why Is the Internet So Slow Even When the Signal Is Full? Are Far EasTone, Taiwan Mobile, and Chunghwa Telecom Maliciously Removing Base Stations Because There’s a Shortage of 40,000? Are Conglomerates Raking in Profits While Providing Terrible Service? Is the NCC Doing Nothing About It?”“! The ratios of 4G/5G base station licenses (Y2512) to 4G/5G subscribers (Y2511) were “47.9:52.1” and “59.1:40.9,” respectively , which seems to corroborate the criticism leveled by 【Emmy’s Drama Time】 against the “Big Three”The claim that “telecom operators are dismantling 4G cell towers in order to force out 4G holdouts.”
However, if we refer to Opensignal’s latest report, [ Report on Mobile Network Quality in the Second Half of 2025 】Although the number of 4G base station licenses has decreased significantly due to telecom mergers, Taiwan’s overall mobile network speed and coverage have improved thanks to the increase in 5G base stations and Far EasTone’s acquisition of Asia Pacific Telecom’s 700 MHz frequency band. Network availability has even reached an impressive 99.x%!
While it’s true that 5G speeds have slowed somewhat as the number of 5G users has grown, the deployment of 5G base stations has led to significant improvements in both 5G availability and coverage!
If your mobile internet is lagging, it’s not necessarily because your mobile data speed has slowed down—it could also be due to the content website’s servers being overloaded or your usage habits!
Internet celebrity Emmy attributed the slowdown in her Google Search and ChatGPT performance to telecom operators drastically reducing the number of 4G base station licenses, butIf your mobile internet screen freezes or shows a spinning circle, it means there is network lag.The causes are quite varied and include the capacity of telecom operators’ 4G base stations, wireless/wired bandwidth, the specifications of users’ mobile devices and insufficient memory, insufficient bandwidth from ISPs, or content websites’ servers reaching full capacity.
Internet influencer Emmy noted that slow responses from ChatGPT may be caused by factors such as an unstable internet connection, high server load, insufficient device performance, excessive browser cache and cookies, running multiple tasks simultaneously, or overly complex prompts. If users experience lag while browsing, they can use speed-testing software (such as Speedtest…) to check the current status of their mobile network. If the test results show normal speeds but online videos still stutter or display a spinning wheel, this is usually caused by many people sharing the network during peak hours.The ISP is experiencing a bandwidth shortage, or the content website’s servers are at full capacity.caused by.
According to Opensignal’s report on Taiwanese telecom operators inMedia/Games/Media AppsExperience: Although Taiwan’s three major telecom operators saw a slight decline in their video and audio experience scores, all three remained in the “Very Good” range (68–78 points). This demonstrates that Taiwanese operators continue to strive to optimize the quality of their mobile network experience, and no significant differences have emerged despite the reduction in the number of base station licenses. If your connection is laggy or AI responses are slow, the problem may not be due to an unstable network connection from the telecom provider itself!
With fewer 4G cell tower licenses, the biggest impact on 4G users will be network congestion!
Since the survey period covered by Opensignal’s latest report ran from August 1, 2025, to October 29, 2025, the report’s findings may not accurately reflect the current state of 4G networks. Given the objective fact that the number of 4G base station licenses has dropped significantly, emmy’s criticism and the complaints from some netizens are not unfounded. In particular, for “4G holdouts”—users who can only use 4G base stations—there is indeed a legitimate concern that they are at the mercy of service providers! Currently, there are 58,905 4G base station licenses. and the reduction in licenses by December 2025 will primarily affect “4G general-type base stations” (formerly 3G base stations) for Chunghwa Telecom. However, the total number of 4G base station licenses issued to all operators still exceeds 15,000, and with the addition of new 5G base stations, it is expected thatThe impact on overall network coverage and availability is quite limited!
However, since the number of users a mobile base station can accommodate is limited—and the lower the frequency band, the fewer users it can support—the decline in the number of 4G base station licenses, while not affecting network availability, means that 4G users will face a higher risk of network congestion.
Self-Help Guide for 4G Users: Identify the Problem and Find the Right Solution!
Given the policy goals of energy conservation, carbon reduction, and the promotion of 5G, the trend toward telecom operators phasing out 4G base station licenses in favor of 5G licenses is irreversible. Especially with the regulatory authority, the NCC, facing the imminent threat of being completely dismantled, Taiwan’s 4G users can only hope for the best.
With the advent of the digital age, the quality of mobile networks is closely tied to the convenience of people’s daily lives. Given the ongoing decline in the number of 4G base station licenses, the forum moderator offers the following advice to those who intend to stick with 4G:
A. Run a speed test to determine whether the network connection issue is caused by the telecom provider or the content website:
If you experience lag while using the internet, start by running a speed test. If your internet speed is normal (>21 Mbps) and you have at least two signal bars, you can rule out a network connection issue on the part of your telecom provider.
B. Identify the root cause and address it directly:
a. Issues with Telecommunications Providers…switch to using Wi-Fi for internet access, port your number to a different carrier, or consider switching to a 5G plan.
b. If the issue is related to the device, consider replacing it with a higher-end model (especially one with more memory or support for more CA).
c. For issues with content websites, consider upgrading to a paid subscription, avoid using pirated free websites, or avoid peak hours.
d. User habits: Clear your browser’s cache and cookies regularly; avoid running too many tasks at once; and avoid using commands that are too long or complex.。
Source: KOCPC Chinese