Thirteen companies have applied to build WiMax networks in Taiwan, but one group hopes to derail them out of health concerns, says InfoWorld.

Taiwan’s National Communications Commission, said nine companies will vie for licenses in northern Taiwan, while 10 companies are competing for licenses in the south. Taiwan plans to pass out three licenses in each zone, for a total of six WiMax licenses island-wide.

The Taiwan WiMAX network will use 2.5 ~ 2.69 GHz and each of the six licenses will be accorded 30 Mhz each. The licenses will be valid for six years, and can be renewed for another six years upon expiry. The licensees will be required to pay an annual fee of 1.5%, with the minimum fee in the first year of US$600,000 and growing to US$1.2 million by the third year.

One group is not happy to see the auction process proceeding. Earlier this month, the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union petitioned the government to halt the WiMax licensing process until further health studies can be made on the impact of electromagnetic waves from cell phone and WiMax base stations. Their concern centers on the belief that the waves can cause cancer, but the group says it cannot prove such a link.

It’s part of the island’s M Taiwan initiative, to establish WiMax as a way for people to access the Internet, even in the most remote areas of the island. Part of the idea is also to boost Taiwanese companies with domestic orders for WiMax gear, by promoting the technology.

The island’s three largest mobile phone service providers have all applied for WiMax licenses. Chunghwa Telecom, the biggest phone company in Taiwan, applied to bid for licenses in both the north and south of Taiwan, as did Far Eastone Telecom and a subsidiary of Taiwan Mobile.

Nortel is providing Chunghwa Telecom with IEEE 802.16e gear, incorporating Nortel’s patented MIMO antenna technology. Nortel’s MIMO is a key capability enabling the provision of the most demanding real-time applications such as VoIP and voice over WiMAX.

Read more at: http://www.dailywireless.org/2007/06/12/m-taiwan-6-wimax-licenses-1-objection/.