Accommodating Convergence in the Digital Age: Regulator’s Perspective

In order to cope with convergence, a newly-converged government agency, the National Communications Commission (NCC), was established in February 2006. The NCC plays a regulatory rather than a planning role. It is an independent regulator governing the telecommunications, media and information sectors. As an independent regulator, the NCC is not a member of the Cabinet and it is not under the supervision of the Executive Yuan. However, according to the Communications Basic Law, national communications resources planning and the provision of guidance and incentives for industry development are to be performed by subordinate organizations under the Executive Yuan. Therefore, the former telecommunication regulator and broadcaster regulator still play a role in providing guidance and incentives to the telecommunications and broadcasting industries. In this paper, the author will discuss the conflicts among the relevant government agencies and analyze whether the new converged regulator can meet the needs of the communication industries and the consumers while dealing with the convergent issues.