Speaking on the opening day of the three-day trade show, Ma said the Taipei City government began working with Intel Corp. and Taipei-based Chunghwa Telecom Co. in 2002 to first construct an outdoor wireless communication network in the upscale Xinyi district, from which the network was expanded to cover an area of 230 square kilometers.

More than 4,000 access points were eventually established in the 271.8 sq. km. city to realize his initiative of turning Taiwan's capital into a wireless city, Ma noted.

Citing a study which estimated that there will be 700 million WiMAX users worldwide by 2013, Ma said the assessment shows his policy of building a wireless city was on the right course.

Describing his WiMAX experience, Ma said he once used WiMAX on a running metro train and found that he could surf the Internet as quickly in an environment moving at high speed as in a static building.

That advantage, and WiMAX's edge in terms of construction cost and efficiency relative to other broadband technologies means Taiwan could use WiMAX as the core technology in developing its service sector.

Broadband Taiwan 2009 is taking place in conjunction with several international conferences, including the WiMAX Forum Member Conference, WiMAX Summit Taiwan 2009, the IPTV Development Forum, and the Broadband Forum Taiwan 2009, making WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) the theme of the trade show.

The event, co-organized by the semi-official Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and the Taiwan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (TEEMA) , is hosting 132 exhibitors at the Taipei World Trade Center to showcase broadband products ranging from parts and components to software.

At the opening ceremony, TAITRA Chairman Wang Chih-kang described 2009 as the beginning of the WiMAX era in both Taiwan and the world, as businesses around the globe are gearing up to fight for a share of multibillion US dollar WiMAX market.

In Taiwan, six local WiMAX operators -- including Tatung InfoComm and Global Mobil Corp. -- will launch commercial services at the end of this year and next year.

According to a report by Taiwan's nongovernmental Institute of Information Industry, the global production value of WiMAX devices and equipment for users will reach US$9.33 billion in 2012, and that Taiwan's WiMAX equipment output is expected to grow by 162-fold between 2006 and 2012 to US$3.78 billion.

At the trade show, local telecommunication operators introduced many WiMAX technology applications, including Internet yellow cabs that offer online and multimedia services.

WiMAX is a telecommunications technology that provides wireless transmission of data using a variety of transmission modes, from point-to-multipoint links to portable and fully mobile internet access (By Anita Pen & Elizabeth Hsu)