Professor Lin Yiping, Chairman of the Jury: Taiwan has the advantage of Edge AI, and combined with 5G, it has become an important stage for AI applications

The core focus of this years competition: 5G, AI and Generative AI are the current hot topics in the technology industry. The adoption of generative AI is no longer an "optional option" but a "must-have" for corporate development. In the future, regardless of the size of the enterprise, it is necessary to introduce relevant technologies and optimize the workflow through generative AI, such as the compilation of meeting trans and key summaries, or combining the huge amount of data in the enterprise with RAG technology to build a dedicated knowledge base, etc. In addition, Taiwans IC design industry has deeply applied generative AI, including code generation, IC design simulation, automatic testing and drawing, etc., all of which use AI to accelerate the design process and optimize performance.

Compared with large-scale language model applications based on the cloud, the decentralized and highly customized Edge AI field will become Taiwans development strength. Taiwan has a strong AI-related hardware supply chain and a complete integration solution. Distributed Edge AI places particular emphasis on close integration with 5G communications, for example in smart healthcare, robot collaboration, self-driving cars, smart manufacturing, and other application areas. These are the keys to Taiwans ability to compete with the rest of the world.

ESG and CSR are integrated into the competition topic, and innovative applications are moving towards sustainability

This years communication competition also included the application of ESG and CSR in the topic. Professor Lin pointed out that issues such as carbon rights and carbon taxes have become an inevitable pressure on the industry. Therefore, if the startup team can propose more digital management and intelligent operation solutions for energy conservation, carbon emission management, etc., it is believed that there is great potential for future development and it can also attract the interest of enterprises.

At present, Taiwan has fully discussed ESG-related regulations. At the same time, the government also provides subsidy budgets for enterprises to introduce ESG-related technologies in the early stage, and guides the industry to solve the relevant issues of green energy sustainability as soon as possible. Including water saving, electricity saving and carbon emission monitoring calculation can be properly managed through information and communication technology, and the relevant data can also be converted into ESG results. There will be opportunities for introduction in any country in the future.

International teams actively participate, and Taiwan has become a hot spot for global startups

The international competition of the communication competition has come to its 6th year this year, and cooperates with the Taiwan institutions of Canada, France and other countries to attract startup teams from all over the world to participate. Professor Lin found that many foreign teams are very creative and have strong execution in software development, but are relatively weak in hardware implementation and implementation. For this reason, Taiwans hardware technology can make up for the shortcomings of foreign teams and has become an important incentive for many foreign startups to participate in the competition. The communications competition is not only a simple technical competition, but also an opportunity for startup teams to find business cooperation, technical docking, and even investment opportunities.

In addition, the communications competition is different from general innovation competitions and emphasizes "implementation and implementation". In addition to paying attention to innovative thinking, the judges are more concerned about "whether this concept can be made and whether there is an opportunity to enter the market." Take the smart medical application mentioned above as an example. In addition to its own innovation and practicality, it is necessary to consider whether it can obtain medical certification at the concept development stage in addition, communication-related applications must also consider whether they can be integrated into the service architecture of telecommunications operators.

Professor Lin believes that the technical capabilities of the Taiwanese team are on par with those of foreign teams, but there is still room for improvement in English proficiency. If the product concept can be fully expressed in the briefing, it is believed that it will be easier to gain recognition from industry manufacturers. He believes that "if you have good skills but cannot express them, they will not be seen. Learning how to package your ideas and let the judges understand what you want to do is the key to success."

Chunghwa Telecom: Taiwan has both soft and hard capabilities, and the communications competition has become a driver of the industrys intelligent transformation

Sustainability becomes a new start-up opportunity, and takes practical actions to assist potential teams to realize application implementation

As the main telecommunications company that has sponsored the Communications Contest for nine consecutive years, Chunghwa Telecom has long been developing and promoting 5G commercial applications, and is committed to providing services or complete solutions such as AIoT, cloud, information security, M-based applications, big data, AR/VR technology, etc., and building infrastructure such as submarine cables, optical fibers, mobile communications, satellites, and microwaves to form a dense network of "sea, land, and sky". In recent years, it has accelerated its cooperation with international satellite companies to string together Taiwans only "high, medium, and low" multi-orbit constellation network, playing a key role in Taiwans network resilience. This year, Chunghwa Telecom has once again invested resources to support this innovative event, and the 5G applications, AI technologies, and ESG sustainable development trends focused on in this competition are not only in line with the development direction of the global information and communications industry, but also highly consistent with the companys core strategy of promoting digital transformation and sustainable development.

The high-speed, low-latency, and large-connection 5G communication technology realizes real-time connection between devices, further enhances data collection and transmission capabilities, and allows the industry to different application scenarios through the Internet of Things. As the focus of technological development shifts from "connection" to "understanding and application", "intelligent application" with AI as the core will become the main topic of the information technology industry. More efficient use of AI will become an important key to competitiveness. At the same time, Taiwan has a complete electronic industry chain and a large number of technical talents, making Taiwan an important member of the AI ​​ecosystem.

Taiwan already has a complete set of software and hardware talents. If it can strengthen the three key capabilities, it will have the opportunity to become an important "smart driver" in the wave of digital transformation: (1) Software development capabilities: As the demand for AI applications continues to expand, the software and hardware integration of AIoT and Edge AI has become the key. If the foundation of "software + hardware" collaborative development of Taiwanese manufacturers can be further strengthened, there is the potential to differentiated integrated solutions. (2) Local application scenarios: LLM fine-tuning and customized model development for traditional Chinese contexts and specific vertical regions will be carried out to develop industrial AI with local characteristics. (3) Cross-border collaboration platform: Cooperate with important platforms in the international AI ecosystem to build a local computing center and AI application development platform, which will provide more competitive resources and services for enterprises and academic research institutions.

In addition to being a domestic benchmark technology competition, the Communications Competition has also become an important platform for international startups and Taiwans ICT industry to communicate with each other. For participants, not only can they access a complete supply chain and multiple fields, but they can also conduct technical verification and market testing at a relatively lower cost, which is definitely a rare opportunity for startup teams that are just starting out.

As an important communications operator in Taiwan, Chunghwa Telecom naturally has very clear standards for the selection of teams in the Communications Competition, including business models with high feasibility and clear value propositions, verifiable application scenarios and stable future revenue models. At the same time, startup teams also need to clearly understand how their products will expand in the future and gradually enter the commercialization stage. Being able to demonstrate market understanding and execution will be an important key if the participating teams show commercialization potential or cross-domain integration capabilities, Chunghwa Telecom will also have the opportunity to assist the team in landing promotion and growth through business cooperation, product listing, and even investment.

The theme of this communications competition includes ESG, which is also a new direction for Chunghwa Telecom to be optimistic about the innovation of the ICT industry. If environmental and social values ​​can be integrated into technological innovation, it can enhance its own market competitiveness, and it will also have a better chance to attract resource investment and gain the favor of international cooperation. Sustainability will become an entrepreneurial opportunity. Starting from specific technological applications or social needs, there is a greater chance to develop solutions that have both commercial value and social impact, including green ICT solutions, digital gap solutions, social welfare orientation, ESG data management platforms and circular technology applications... These topics will all be potential entry points for sustainable technological innovation.

Far EasTone Telecommunications: Continue to focus on ESG and AI development, and work with startups to a sustainable future

Far EasTone Telecommunications: Continue to focus on ESG and expect business models with quantifiable benefits and development potential, provide teams with a technical verification field, and form a co-creation ecosystem

Far EasTone Telecommunications has actively invested in the development of "big people (big data, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things)" related applications. In recent years, it has regarded ESG as a core development field and technical direction, and has promoted industrial transformation with its deep foundation in the information and communications industry. For example, it cooperated with Taipower to build an offshore microgrid in Wangan Township, Penghu County, and won the "2024 Smart City Innovation Application Award". In addition, Far EasTone is also promoting microgrids in offshore islands, universities, remote villages, communities and factory parks, and combining renewable energy to improve power supply stability. In smart healthcare, Far EasTones self-developed "5G remote diagnosis and treatment platform" has covered all health centers in mountainous and offshore islands recognized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The service has spread to 15 counties and cities, 56 townships across the country, and more than 67,000 people, allowing residents in remote villages to avoid the inconvenience of commuting and reduce carbon emissions, while also enjoying the same high-quality medical services as teaching hospitals.

In the wave of AI in recent years, in addition to the production and construction needs of related hardware becoming a major business opportunity, enterprises also need various practical applications. Taking Far EasTone Telecommunications itself as an example, its self-developed "Far EasTone Zhiling" AI platform has accelerated Far EasTone AI application development and business model transformation. It has been actually applied in telecom fraud prevention, audio and video, customer service and IT maintenance, etc., which are all cases worth considering for new startup teams.

However, the development of AI has also brought new challenges in energy and carbon emissions to Taiwanese companies. Far EasTone Telecommunications pointed out that the increase in power consumption and carbon emissions caused by data centers and computing needs will be issues that need to be considered and solutions proposed in the future. It hopes to discover relevant technologies and potential business models through the communication competition and work with new startup teams to solve the above problems.

Far EasTone Telecommunications believes that in addition to the advantages of hardware supply chain, Taiwan also has various IoT applications in the public and private sectors, accumulating a lot of data that can be used to develop AI or big data applications. There are many scenarios that can be used as application development targets in both the public and private sectors. For new startup teams at home and abroad, the communication competition has a long history of development and an important position in the industry. New startup teams can communicate with many companies through this platform, and have the opportunity to obtain a field to verify technology and form a co-creation ecosystem.

Far EasTone Telecommunications also pointed out that when enterprises introduce AI technology, in addition to paying attention to the urgent problems to be solved, they also need to consider the impact on energy and carbon emissions, so as to help enterprises balance the costs and information security risks of AI innovation and corporate governance. At the same time, for the development of the ESG field, we also hope to see new start-up teams have clear solutions with quantitative benefits and can match flexible business models. In addition, Far EasTone Telecommunications also reminded new start-up teams that "how to balance innovation introduction and corporate governance risks" will be a key issue that enterprises pay attention to. The business model of "starting from a controllable scale and then gradually expanding" will be relatively more pragmatic.

Far EasTone Telecommunications has always cooperated and interacted with new start-up teams and industrial ecosystems, and has rich practical experience. If the start-up team has the potential for implementation, it is expected that in the future, they will jointly carry out proof of concept of new technologies and service verification of product solutions, and even market promotion and other diversified cooperation.

Communications competition focuses on 5G innovation, and Huadian Network leads the industry transformation

Assist the team to accelerate product development and market verification, laying the foundation for subsequent large-scale development

Taiwan occupies a leading position in the semiconductor industry. TSMCs leading position in global high-end chip manufacturing provides a solid foundation for 5G-related equipment. In terms of network infrastructure, 5G network coverage has reached 97.6%, and the median download speed is as high as 265.35 Mbps, surpassing most Asian countries (source). Taiwan has formed a complete supply chain from chip design and manufacturing to terminal equipment application. The government actively promotes open network technology and promotes international cooperation. In addition, the transparent regulatory environment and stable democratic system are highly attractive to international companies and start-up teams seeking a "clean supply chain".

This years communication competition includes ESG and CSR in the competition direction, reflecting the importance of sustainable development in the information and communication industry. Start-up teams can start from energy-saving equipment design, carbon footprint management, circular economy and other directions to develop innovative solutions that meet the ESG concept.

As one of the leading companies in Taiwans ICT industry, Huadian Networking actively seeks opportunities to cooperate with start-up teams. Based on the experience of previous communication competitions, Huadian Networking provides a diverse and complete cooperation model to help start-up teams accelerate growth and market expansion.

In terms of technical support, Huadian Network has rich experience in 5G private network technology, smart application development and system integration. Taking the Baogao Park in New Taipei City as an example, Huadian Network successfully integrated 5G private network, smart pole application, drone inspection, etc. to a complete smart park solution. Startup teams can use Huadian Networks technology to accelerate the maturity of their own solutions and reduce development risks.

In terms of market promotion, Huadian Network helps startup teams quickly enter the market through corporate customer introduction, demonstration field construction, and joint market development. For example, in the 5G field construction case of Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Huadian Network assisted startup teams to introduce innovative applications into actual fields and specific business value.

Resource connection is an important way for Huadian Network to support startups. By participating in a number of innovation cultivation programs, Huadian Network not only provides technical guidance and business model guidance, but also helps startup teams connect with industry resources and connect venture capital networks. Recent cooperation cases with Microsoft and National Central University have demonstrated its layout in the fields of industry-university cooperation and educational technology innovation, providing more diverse development opportunities for startup teams.

If a startup team wants to gain the attention of Huadian Network, the key is to demonstrate clear technical value and a feasible and sustainable business model. The team needs to have solid technical capabilities and be able to propose specific market verification plans. Demonstrate innovative solutions and clear market entry strategies in areas such as AI, 5G, and smart applications.

In summary, from professional guidance at the technical level, customer development at the market level, to partner connection at the resource level. Huadian Networks support can not only help the team accelerate product development and market verification, but also lay the foundation for subsequent large-scale development.

For teams that are committed to smart application innovation, participating in the communications competition is not only a stage to demonstrate their strength, but also an important opportunity to look to the world, connect with the industry, and accelerate development. Through in-depth cooperation with Huadian Network, startup teams can more quickly transform innovative ideas into substantive and sustainable market value, and jointly promote the innovative development of Taiwans ICT industry.

Taiwan Mobile: The Communications Competition is an important innovation platform in Asia, helping teams explore new business opportunities

I look forward to meeting more teams with Open Possible thinking and working together to achieve the evolution from creativity to implementation.

Taiwan has strong integration capabilities from hardware to software, coupled with policies that encourage collaboration between startups and enterprises, and open 5G and AI fields, which will help the rapid implementation of technology. As one of the important innovation platforms in Asia, the Communications Competition not only connects Taiwans major telecommunications and ICT leading companies, but also provides a platform for matchmaking, investment and PoC for international startups. Coming to Taiwan to participate is not just a competition, but also a bridge to establish long-term cooperation and market trials.

Many Taiwanese companies pay close attention to the development of AI, but the actual proportion of generative AI introduced is only 14%, far lower than the global average of 32%, reflecting that corporate leaders are generally anxious but struggling to find an entry point. These are opportunities for startup teams. Taking Taiwan Mobile itself as an example, through ASR, TTS, and LLM, it launched Taiwans first open source model for integrated speech recognition in Chinese, English, Taiwanese, and customers, providing AI dictation brother, AI voice customer service, AI 2.0 solutions, and anti-fraud police enterprise version to help companies upgrade AI immediately.

Next, 5G independent networking (5G SA) will become the focus of industry development. AI and generative AI applications are rapidly integrating into the 5G ecosystem, boosting mobile data traffic and smart service demand. For example, vehicles are no longer just a means of transportation, but also a data node and service platform for smart life, entertainment, energy management and industry collaboration. Therefore, Taiwan Mobile developed the "Taiwan Mobility" strategy, focusing on users, launching MyCharge charging services, fleet management, AI entertainment and in-car communications, deeply integrating the three cores of connection, content and charging, and cooperating with USPACE (which participated in the communication competition) and WeMo Scooter to a smart mobile experience.

In addition, 5G applications combined with ESG have become an important trend in the global information and communications industry, using 5G technology to promote network energy saving, green electricity adoption, equipment virtualization and smart energy saving management. For example, Taiwan Mobile introduced AI RAN in existing 4G and 5G networks, verified and expanded AI management, and introduced Nokia network technology. Through IMS digital twin technology and generative AI, it achieved real-time monitoring and anomaly detection, improved network automation efficiency, and moved towards the fifth level of autonomous network, significantly reducing carbon emissions and electricity consumption.

From the perspective of the review, a good business model is based on clear market demand, executable technical architecture and measurable benefit indicators. The scoring criteria pay special attention to the implementation of the Taiwan market, and it is recommended that the team emphasize the connection strategy with local enterprises and industries, PoC cooperation opportunities and ESG benefits. Only by using data and stories to show the actual usage scenarios and benefits can the market and investors be convinced. The team is also encouraged to think about the business model landing point with the logic of "who is the target customer, what they are using now, and why they will switch to you" when pitching.

Taiwan Mobile links Telco+Tech, focusing on green AI and sustainable technology, 5G AIoT, information security, Internet of Vehicles, virtual assets, telecommunications finance, smart mobility and other business fields, spanning smart manufacturing, retail, and financial industries. We look forward to new startup teams proposing solutions to Taiwan Mobiles technology business and creating business opportunities together. Startups are like "telescopes" that help companies explore market trends. Taiwan Mobile can help new startup teams technologies, optimize business models, explore new business opportunities in the industry, and bring innovations to the market. We look forward to meeting more teams with Open Possible thinking this year, and together we can achieve the evolution from creativity to change and new value with social significance.

The 2025 Communications Competition is recruiting teams to submit innovative solutions for AI, 5G, and ESG

This years communication competition still focuses on the international competition Mobileheroes Global, which is conducted in English. Every year, there are Taiwanese teams participating. The benefit of participating in international competitions is to get to know foreign teams, learn different cultural ways of observing problems and proposing solutions, and have the opportunity to find partners to expand overseas markets. Currently, international teams have signed memoranda of understanding with Taiwanese manufacturers, bringing different technologies and services, and are ready to show their talents in the Taiwanese market.

The following video is a testimony from this years organizer, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Industrial Development Administration, and the sponsoring companies, talking about how the communication competition can help teams obtain more resources. It is worth knowing.

▲ The 2024 Communications Competition will hold the finals and awards ceremony in late October. Many global startup teams that entered the finals had lively exchanges on site, and this years competition stage looks forward to more teams participating.