Which telecom operator has more mobile base stations? NCC recently announced the latest number of 4G and 5G base station licenses in Taiwan. The overall number of base station licenses is 123,414, an increase of 403 from the previous month. The number of 4G base station licenses has reversed and increased by 140. With the Fair Association showing concern for users’ “right to know,” the NCC no longer announces the number of base station licenses for each operator. The latest status of the three major telecommunications mobile base station licenses has finally been revealed, and the number of base station licenses has stopped falling and has rebounded.
What are the recent changes in the number of mobile base station licenses in Taiwan? What are the license numbers of the three major telecommunications mobile base stations? The following is a summary and analysis:
After the telecommunications merger, the number of mobile broadband base station licenses in Taiwan dropped month by month, especially the number of 4G base station licenses. The donkey is not immovable. When the Fair Council expressed concern about mobile users’ “right to know”, the NCC no longer covered the licenses. The latest announcement of the number of base station licenses was finallyStop falling and rebound. The following is a summary video and detailed analysis of the number of telecommunications Sanxiong mobile base station licenses announced by the NCC:
1. The latest changes in the number of mobile base station licenses in Taiwan:
Last month, a moderator compiled the number of mobile broadband base station licenses announced by the NCC, and was the first to reveal that the number of 5G base station licenses exceeded the number of 4G base station licenses for the first time, attracting follow-up attention from some media. In response to the significant reduction in the number of 4G base station licenses, which also caused the Fair Association to invite industry players to be concerned about users’ “right to know”, the NCC finally followed the lead and truthfully announced the number of mobile base station licenses for the three major telecommunications companies.
According to the latest NCC announcement of the number of 4G and 5G base station licenses in Taiwan (January 31, 2026), the number of 4G base station licenses is 59,045 and the number of 5G base station licenses is 64,369, totaling 123,414. The number of licenses increased by 403 compared to the previous month (4G+140; 5G+263). The number of 4G base station licenses and the overall number of base station licenses finally stopped falling and rebounded. It can be seen that users’ “right to know” has contributed to the active construction of base stations by telecom operators.
Looking at each county and city, the top five new base station licenses are Taipei City (+100), Taoyuan City (+75), New Taipei City (+64), Tainan City (+59), and Pingtung County (+3 6); the top five new 5G base station licenses are Taipei City (+68), New Taipei City (+44), Taoyuan City (+34), Tainan City (+34), and Pingtung County (+18).
The overall number of 5G base station licenses is 64,369, accounting for 52.2%. The top five counties and cities with 5G base station share are Hsinchu City (58%), Taoyuan City (55.9%), Chiayi City (55%), New Taipei City (54.6%), Taiwan Bei City (54.1%); the bottom five 5G base stations are Kinmen County (38.5%), Taitung County (43.3%), Pingtung County (45.8%), Chiayi County (49.2%), and Penghu County/Miaoli County (49.5%).
Judging from the statistics of mobile base stations over the past six months, since the telecommunications merger was finalized at the end of 2023, the number of 4G base station licenses has decreased significantly. The peak number of mobile licenses in December 2023 was 110,930, and there were only 91,183 left in June 2024. Since 3G base stations have been reclassified as “4G general base stations” for 4G heterogeneous networks since 2018, after the 3G signal was shut down on June 30, 2024, the number of 4G base station licenses has been deteriorating. Starting from December 31, 2025, the number of 4G base station licenses counted by the NCC will no longer include “4G general base stations” (formerly 3G base stations). There are only 58,905 4G base stations left in Taiwan, which will be lost to 5G base stations for the first time. After users’ “right to know” was taken seriously, the number of base station licenses in Taiwan finally stopped falling and rebounded in 2026!
2. Number of licenses for the three major telecommunications mobile base stations:
According to the latest information announced by the NCC, as of January 31, 2026, Chunghwa Telecom had 48,856 base station licenses, an increase of 101 from the previous month, Taiwan Mobile had 37,691 base station licenses, an increase of 84 from the previous month, and Far EasTone Telecom had 36,867 base station licenses, an increase of 218 from the previous month.
Regarding the number of 4G base station licenses in December last year, excluding “4G general base stations” (formerly 3G base stations), Chunghwa Telecom had the largest decrease of 9,512 licenses compared to June 2025 due to the latest closure of 3G base stations, followed by Taiwan Mobile with a decrease of 4,265 licenses, and Far EasTone Telecommunications with a decrease of 1,222 licenses.
In terms of the number of 5G base station licenses, Chunghwa Telecom has the most licenses with 25,136, an increase of 89 from the previous month; Taiwan Mobile is second with 19,746 licenses, an increase of 17 from the previous month; Far EasTone Telecom is chasing Taiwan Mobile with 19,487 licenses, an increase of 157 from the previous month.
Regarding the number of 4G base station licenses, Chunghwa Telecom has the largest number of licenses with 23,720, an increase of 12 from the previous month; Taiwan Mobile is second with 17,945 licenses, an increase of 67 from the previous month; Far EasTone Telecom is slightly behind with 17,380 licenses, an increase of 61 from the previous month.
In terms of the proportion of 5G base stations of the three major telecoms, after excluding the number of original 3G base station licenses in December last year, the proportion of 5G base stations of the three major telecoms exceeded 50%, which is already between the two!
Since Chunghwa Telecom has more 5G users than Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone Telecommunications, both of which hold the 700MHz 4G low-frequency maximum bandwidth, although there is a gap in the number of 4G and 5G base station licenses among the three major telecoms, it seems reasonable. Among them, the number of base station licenses of Far EasTone Telecommunications and Taiwan Mobile continues to close, but the number of Far EasTone users is nearly 800,000 less. Taiwan Mobile cannot take the construction of base stations lightly!
According to the Economic Daily, the construction of the mobile network of the Three Telecoms in 2026 is expected to release approximately 25 billion yuan in procurement opportunities. Chunghwa Telecom will focus on expanding 5G base stations in the 2100MHz frequency band in 2026, while building a small-scale SA demonstration site to prepare for 6G; Taiwan Mobile will introduce 5G Advanced (5GA) in 2026, which is expected to increase by another 15%. 5G capacity; Far EasTone Telecom plans to upgrade its 5G network this year, introduce a number of 5GA functions, and actively deploy SA independent networking technology. It can be seen that the 5G SA independent network will be the top priority of Telecom Sanxiong’s mobile network construction this year!
Image source: economic daily
As digital life has penetrated deeply into the daily lives of Taiwanese people, the average data traffic used by each user continues to increase. The construction layout of mobile network of telecom operators has a huge impact on the rights and interests of users. After repeated calls and the Fair Council’s concerns about the “right to know” of mobile phone users, the three major telecoms finally no longer ignore the rights of “4G nail-biters”. I hope that the NCC will no longer fold its cards. With enthusiastic netizens and the media compiling and revealing the number of base station licenses over the past months, the three major telecoms will have the motivation (pressure) to simultaneously improve the quality of mobile networks in both quality and quantity, creating a win-win-win situation!
Source: KOCPC Chinese