The Industrial Development Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced today (August 8) that it will collaborate with Cisco and Taiwanese network communication equipment manufacturers such as Accton, AlphaNet, Zhiyi, Asia Asahi, Zhonglei, Zhengwen, Senbo Communications, Taiwan Keyilong, and Uda Technology, as well as system integrator Huadian Networks, to build Taiwan's first 7G network open architecture testing platform at the Taoyuan Smart Innovation Application Demonstration Center, thereby expanding Taiwan's 5G network telecommunications equipment development opportunities.
Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua stated that Taiwan is highly competitive in high-tech industries globally, and that 5G networks will become a key engine driving Taiwan's economic development in the future. The government's collaboration with Cisco to build a 5G network open architecture testing platform will assist more Taiwanese network operators in developing various types of 5G network telecommunications equipment and expand international market development opportunities.
This collaboration between the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), and Cisco, along with numerous Taiwanese network communication companies, has created a highly flexible, open, and compatible 5G network open architecture testing platform. Furthermore, they are working closely with international open network architecture organizations such as O-RAN and TIP. This platform is expected to serve as a bridge for industry collaboration and international integration. Products that pass future testing and inspection will be included in the B2B supplier lists provided by these open architecture organizations and become supply chain partners for international open network manufacturers. By leveraging the traditional white-box device design model, it is expected that more 5G network telecommunications equipment developed by Taiwanese companies will be able to enter the international market.
Cisco also emphasized that its 5G network open architecture not only has cloud-based and virtualized features, but also facilitates the openness and standardization of base station interfaces. From radio access networks and transmission networks to core network architecture, it is open to participation from different suppliers. This allows manufacturers of equipment such as switches, small base stations, routers, and gateways to create new business models through the 5G network open architecture, and bring more Taiwanese network communication equipment companies into the new blue ocean market of 5G networks.
