Chunghwa Telecom, the former state-run carrier and Taiwan’s number 1 telecommunications operator, has consistently led the country in mobile technology, being the first telco to provide LTE service in 2014, and launching the first 5G network in June 2020. Jimao Xie took over as chairman in 2019 and continued to promote the company’s Leap to 2021 plan led by former chairman Zheng You.

In 2021, Xie announced plans to accelerate its 5G deployment; towards that goal, the company has already built 12,000 base stations. Xie believes that 5G will be the most important infrastructure of the smart home and IoT, and so Chunghwa will continue to develop more smart application services, like its popular eHome app, a virtual voice assistant that allows users to control the appliances and order takeout, among other functions.