2020 was probably the start of a terrible phase in many people's lives – perhaps yours included.
For me, not as much as bad as most (it was probably the start of a great 20s for me… so far).
Before the world went on a lockdown, I was in Taiwan – a trip that was supposed to last only two months.
With infection rates being crazy in Europe and Australia being closed off to basically everyone (including its own citizens), I did not feel like going anyway.
Luckily, the Taiwanese government was kind enough to extend everyone's visa – even though I would normally have to leave after 90 days.
Because of this lenient policy, I stayed in Taiwan for an entire year.
As a result, I was able to test every Taiwanese SIM card, including Chunghwa Telecom, extensively.
I am talking about literal months of testing in nine different cities/counties – from New Taipei up north to Pingtung to the south – from Chiayi/Taichung on the west to Hualien/Taitung (literally meaning East Taiwan) on the east; I have been there.
I have to say that I usually do not get the opportunity to test SIM cards for a year (mostly because I want to visit another country anyway… so much to see!) – but with a lockdown, it seemed like I had no choice.
And you know I took that opportunity and went to the extreme – testing each SIM card at 101 test locations (to pay respect to the Taiwan 101 building (honestly, it was just a coincidence, lol)).
So when I say that Chunghwa Telecom is the best in the title, you can believe it truly is – especially when I compare it to five other Taiwanese SIM cards (Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone, T Star Taiwan, GT Mobile Taiwan & Ibon Mobile).
But of course, I will explain why Chunghwa Telecom is the best option throughout this review.
Let's get started, shall we?
Original publication: 21st of October 2022. Last updated: 15th of January 2024.
Table of Contents
Who is Chunghwa Telecom?
Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), or 中華電信 if you want to be fancy, is the largest mobile operator in Taiwan.
It was a state-owned monopoly until the Taiwanese telecom market was liberalized.
According to Opensignal, Speedtest & myself (although I am not an authority as the former two 🤪), Chunghwa Telecom is the best-performing mobile operator.
This is actually a good time to introduce you to the other Taiwanese mobile operators.
In Taiwan, you have five mobile operators and one Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO):
- Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信)
- Taiwan Mobile (台灣大哥大)
- Far EasTone (遠傳電信)
- T Star Taiwan (台灣之星)
- GT Mobile Taiwan (亞太電信)
- Ibon Mobile (統一超商電信 – Far EasTone MVNO)
Taiwan Mobile and T Star Taiwan announced a merger; so did Far EasTone and GT Mobile.
For now, you have six options.
As you know, I tested the other four mobile operators + the sole MVNO during my one-year stay in Taiwan. You can read them here: Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone, T Star Taiwan & GT Mobile Taiwan + Ibon Mobile.
Let's talk about Chunghwa Telecom's coverage first, after these quick frequency details:
- 2G: N/A – shut down in 2017
- 3G: 900 MHz & 2100 MHz
- 4G/LTE: 900 MHz (Band 8), 1800 MHz (Band 3), 2100 MHz (Band 1) & 2600 MHz (Band 7)
- 5G NR: 2100 MHz (n1), 3500 MHz (n78) & 28 GHz (n257)
- VoLTE: Yes
- VoWiFi: Yes
Here you have Chunghwa Telecom's APN settings:
- Name: Chunghwa
- APN: internet
Note: leave anything not mentioned above untouched.
Chunghwa Telecom Coverage + My Experience
You can have a mobile operator providing you 1 Gbps download speeds.
But it will be useless if it covers only one street in Taiwan.
So, how is Chunghwa Telecom's coverage?
In 2021, Chunghwa Telecom won the Taiwan Best Mobile Coverage Speedtest Award (Q1-Q2).
Regarding general availability, Chunghwa Telecom has one of the best availability, with an availability score of 98.9%. Ahead of GT Mobile Taiwan (98.2%) and T Star Taiwan (98.9%) but slightly behind Taiwan Mobile (99%) and Far EasTone (99.2%).
But with score of more than 98%, all Taiwanese mobile operators have excellent availability anyway.
When looking at 5G NR availability, Chunghwa Telecom has the second-worst availability race (22.9%). Ahead of T Star Taiwan (21.8%) but behind Taiwan Mobile (23.3%) and Far EasTone (38.7%).
When we look at 5G NR reach, Chunghwa Telecom is also not doing that well, with a reach score of 5.3 (on a 10-point scale). Ahead of T Star Taiwan again (4.3), but behind Taiwan Mobile (6) & Far EasTone (6.9).
So far, I have been talking about coverage from other reports, but what was my coverage experience with Chunghwa Telecom?
It was excellent, honestly – I had nothing to complain about.
Unlike most countries I visit, I also spend much time in non-touristy areas.
In most cases, I was still connected to 4G/LTE.
However, expect your phone to switch to 3G or have no reception at all when you are on the train (especially on the high-speed train (HSR)).
There is one exception: Pingtung and Taitung countries.
If you take the train from the west to the east, the train will go through a few mountains (the view is amazing, by the way).
You will barely have reception in these sections – and it starts from Fangshan until Taimali (which takes 1:30 hours to 2:30 hours, depending on the train you take).
Yes, there are other stations between those Fangshan and Taimali.
But there is a big chance your train will not stop at most of them, meaning your phone does not have enough time to reconnect to the network.
And even though the train leaves the tunnels every now and then, you still will not have enough time to reconnect to the network.
I cannot speak of how reception will be when you take the car from Pingtung to Taitung (because I could not drive back then).
It may be better than on the train because most of the roads do not go through tunnels.
Below is Chunghwa Telecom's coverage map produced by Speedtest on the mainland and Penghu county (the island on the left/west of the mainland):
Below are the coverage maps on the Kinmen Islands (Jincheng – on the left) and the Matsu Islands (Lienchiang + Dongju, Nangan & Xiju – on the right):
How to Get a Chunghwa Telecom SIM Card & Prices
I would discourage you from buying a SIM card at airports in most countries.
Either becaue of (overly) expensive tourist SIM cards are sold there, or the salespeople jack up the prices with high “minimum top-ups” or because they simply can.
While getting a SIM card at the airport can be convenient, especially when you arrive late or need to be connected as soon as possible, it is often (way) cheaper to buy SIM cards in town.
In Taiwan, however, things are a bit different – I recommend buying Taiwanese SIM cards, including Chunghwa Telecom, at the airport.
I would almost demand you to do so… but that would be too pushy 😜.
Not only are the SIM cards sold at airports of amazing value, but it can also be a challenge to get a prepaid SIM card as a tourist (visa-free or tourist visa).
That is because most stores either do not deal with prepaid SIM cards or do not deal with tourists (not that they would shoo you away, but they can only assist those with a (temporary) resident visa, like students).
So, what is up with these airport SIM cards that I am so hyped about?
Chunghwa Telecom SIM cards sold at airports feature truly unlimited data with no speed restrictions.
Yeah, right… unlimited? Just like in Malaysia, where “unlimited” means “unlimited” until you hit the 3 GB/10 GB/30 GB Fair Use quota?
No… actually unlimited – no fair use limit or download speed cap.
How am I so sure? Because I used multiple Chunghwa Telecom SIM cards over ten months in nine cities/counties (state, province, parish, territory, region – you get it) and never experienced any data or speed caps.
I used two 3-month Chungwa Telecom tourist SIM cards and used more than 200 GB twice – and I was all good both times!
Yeah, this puts all those countries with “unlimited” data plans or SIM cards to shame (like Malaysia, smh 🙄).
Okay, that is enough hyping up – let's go through the process of buying a Chunghwa Telecom SIM card.
First, you need to know that Chunghwa Telecom has a store at all international airports (unlike its competitors – although Taiwan Mobile also has a booth at Kaohsiung International Airport).
Chunghwa Telecom tourist SIM cards are sold at the following airports:
- Kaohsiung – Kaohsiung International Airport (KHH)
- Taichung – Taichung International Airport (RMQ)
- Taipei – Taipei Songshan Airport (TSA)
- Taoyuan – Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE)
While I know an airport like Tainan Airport also has international connections, it is not considered an international airport by the Republic of China Civil Aeronautics Administration… and no SIM cards are sold there anyway 🤪.
At Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, you have at least four stalls and booths selling Chunghwa Telecom SIM cards: three are by official Chunghwa Telecom retailers and at least one by resellers that sell multiple SIM cards (Chunghwa Telecom and T Star Taiwan, for example).
If you arrive at Terminal 1, you have at least two stalls to get a Chunghwa Telecom SIM card – at Terminal 2, you have at least three.
At Kaohsiung International Airport, there is only one booth selling Chunghwa Telecom SIM cards in the reception lobby.
At Taichung Airport and Taipei-Songshan, the booths are in the departure halls – but these are small airports, and you will pass this hall on your way out (unlike Taiwan Taoyuan Airport with four floors 🗿).
Chunghwa Telecom has made this map of its booth at the four Taiwanese airports (but it includes its own retailers only).
And do not worry if you get your SIM card from one of those resellers – they sell SIM cards at the same prices as Chunghwa Telecom
Speaking of prices… how much do Chunghwa Telecom SIM cards actually cost?
Chunghwa Telecom SIM cards are sold between 280 NTD to 3999 NTD.
Chunghwa Telecom has two variants for the tourist SIM cards: 4G Traveler SIM & 5G Traveler SIM.
The following 11 Chunghwa Telecom 4G Traveler SIM cards are available:
Price | SIM Card | Call Credit | Data | Validity |
---|---|---|---|---|
280 NTD | 4G 1.2 GB Pass | 100 NTD | 1.2 GB | 16 days |
300 NTD | 4G 3-Day Pass | 100 NTD | Unlimited | 3 days |
300 NTD | 4G 5-Day Pass ($300) | 50 NTD | Unlimited | 5 days |
400 NTD | 4G 2.2 GB Pass | 100 NTD | 2.2 GB | 16 days |
500 NTD | 4G 5-Day Pass ($500) | 300 NTD | Unlimited | 5 days |
500 NTD | 4G 7-Day Pass | 150 NTD | Unlimited | 7 days |
500 NTD | 4G 10-Day Pass | 100 NTD | Unlimited | 10 days |
699 NTD | 4G 5 GB Pass | N/A | 5 GB | 16 days |
700 NTD | 4G 15-Day Pass ($700) | 100 NTD | Unlimited | 15 days |
800 NTD | 4G 15-Day Pass ($800) | 250 NTD | Unlimited | 15 days |
1000 NTD | 4G 30-Day Pass | 430 NTD | Unlimited | 30 days |
As I mentioned, the 4G unlimited SIM cards include truly unlimited data (except for the ones with a data allowance of course), including unlimited tethering (mobile hotspot).
But… more plans are available, which are not advertised anywhere else, except for at the airport.
If you plan on staying in Taiwan for more than 30 days, these (4G/LTE) plans are also available to you:
Price | Credit | Data | Validity |
---|---|---|---|
2199 NTD | 199 NTD | Unlimited | 90 days |
3999 NTD | 399 NTD | Unlimited | 180 days |
That photo above is from a GT Mobile Taiwan reseller, actually – I am surprised they sold Chunghwa Telecom SIM cards too.
So I had known the world would be on a lockdown from March 2020 on, I would have gone for the 180-day SIM card instead of multiple one-month and three-month SIM cards 🗿.
This is also a good moment to inform you that Chunghwa Telecom tourist SIM cards cannot be extended (not even by topping up).
That is why I mentioned that I purchased several Chunghwa Telecom SIM cards (because extension is impossible and the government announced visa extensions every month without any indication if it would be extended the month after).
So if you know you want to explore Taiwan for several months, it is recommended (and cheaper) to go for a multi-month SIM card outright instead of buying multiple short-term ones.
The photo above was from a T Star Taiwan reseller.
You see that T Star's prices are lower than Chunghwa Telecom… but I can already tell you that Chunghwa Telecom is worth the few extra 100 NTD (because T Star Taiwan throttles your speed without telling you, AND its coverage is meh).
Okay, back to Chunghwa Telecom – you have the following Chunghwa Telecom 5G Traveler SIM cards:
Price | SIM Card | Call Credit | Data | Validity |
---|---|---|---|---|
500 NTD | 5G 3-Day Pass | 100 NTD | Unlimited | 3 days |
600 NTD | 5G 5-Day Pass | 50 NTD | Unlimited | 5 days |
800 NTD | 5G 7-Day Pass | 300 NTD | Unlimited | 7 days |
Just like the 4G SIM cards, you get truly unlimited data with the 5G SIM cards, but tethering (mobile hotspot) is limited (3 GB, 5 GB & 7 GB, respectively).
Back when I was still in Taiwan, Chunghwa Telecom was not selling any 5G NR-enabled SIM cards.
T Star Taiwan already did, surprisingly, but I did not have a 5G NR-capable phone, so I did not bother.
New in October 2022: Chunghwa Telecom now allows prepaid customers to use eSIM for the same price as a regular eSIM 🥳.
- Find out about the best local eSIMs, local travel eSIMs & regional travel eSIMs for every country (lookup tool)
But if you want to learn about all recommended eSIM options for Taiwan, which many Phone Travel Wiz can vouch for too, check out my Taiwan eSIM comparison guide.
When you ask for your Chunghwa Telecom SIM card, you will be asked for your passport.
That is because SIM card registration is mandatory, as mandated by law.
- Find out which countries have SIM card registration regulations and what is required from you (lookup tool)
A photocopy of your passport will be made, and your personal details will be filled into the system.
Once the salesperson is done, they will ask you to sign a document (in traditional Chinese characters).
Afterward, the salesperson will ask for your phone to activate the SIM card and set up the APN settings.
Confirming if your SIM cards work is opening an app (Google Chrome/Safari or YouTube).
So if you normally watch unsavory videos or forgot to change profiles, this is your reminder to do so to not embarrass yourself (I am not speaking of personal experience, but I can already see some… interesting things happening 🗿).
And you are off to go!
Now, let's say you do not care about tourist SIM cards and unlimited data – can you get a regular Chunghwa Telecom SIM card at in town, such as a grocery store, convenience store, or Chunghwa Telecom?
Yes… if you are not a tourist.
When the salesperson checks your passport before photocopying it, they check the entry stamp (and visa) in your passport.
If you have a visa-exempt stamp, like mine below, or a tourist visa, you cannot get a regular Chunghwa Telecom SIM card.
Trust me – I tried. I was in Taiwan for a year.
I was based in Tainan.
One day, I decided I bike to all mobile operator stores in a three-kilometer radius (50+, including Chunghwa Telecom).
Only three stores could sell regular SIM cards to me (Far EasTone, GT Mobile & 7-Eleven (for Ibon Mobile)).
The FarEasTone salesperson was trying to scam me by charging 1000 NTD for a plan that is usually 300 NTD.
The GT Mobile salesperson had to make five calls to figure out what to do, costing me 1.5 hours.
In the case of 7-Eleven's Ibon Mobile, most stores do not have SIM cards in stock (even though the website claims so).
Even then, the staff needs to have time to help you out (most 7-Elevens are busy at all times, except for at night).
Registration takes about 30 minutes too (which involved a few calls too because I was “missing” an extension stamp) – it took me an hour.
You will notice that I have not yet mentioned Chunghwa Telecom (and Taiwan Mobile).
The thing is… it was relatively easy to get a SIM card at a Chunghwa Telecom store.
Many Chunghwa Telecom stores are willing to deal with tourists… but only to sell tourist SIM cards.
As you can see in the photo above, the plans above are the same ones at the airport (minus the 5G Traveler SIM cards because they were unavailable then).
So yeah, you can skip buying a SIM card at the airport and go to the city to get one there, but you have the same options at the airport… so why bother?
Sometimes, the SIM cards sold at Chunghwa Telecom stores are discounted.
Depending on my chosen variant, I got two or three SIM cards with 100 NTD or 300 NTD off, but these promotions are not advertised anywhere.
Moreover, as most Chunghwa Telecom staff do not deal with tourists (especially for stores outside of the city centers of Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan & Taipei), you will be wasting your time because the salesperson has to make multiple phone calls to ask what to do.
And as you predict, this can take up to an hour 🫤.
But once your SIM card has been activated, you are good to go.
Chunghwa Telecom Plans, Bundles & Offers
You do not have to worry about adding any plans because… you cannot add any plans.
And that is actually a good thing because you get truly unlimited data with Chunghwa Telecom.
Unless you chose a SIM card with a data quota… but that would not make sense 🗿.
The thing is, Chunghwa Telecom does have regular prepaid plans, as shown in the screenshot below.
That screenshot is of no help if you cannot read Chinese – lol – but Chunghwa Telecom offers unlimited data plans to regular prepaid customers as well and plans with a data cap.
The difference between these plans and the Chunghwa Telecom tourist SIM cards is that the regular plans extend the validity of the SIM card.
Tourist SIM cards cannot be extended – not even when you try to add a regular plan (or even by topping up).
I am not sure if adding a regular plan would succeed on a tourist SIM card (I did not try, and I suggest you do not either 🤪).
But if you add credit and do not use it before the SIM card's expiry, it will be lost – so be aware.
So get a SIM card for the entirety of your stay, and you will be good to go.
Chunghwa Telecom Top-Up, Recharge & Balance Check
Chunghwa Telecom top-up vouchers are sold in convenience stores, 7-Eleven, FamilyMart & Hi-Life, throughout Taiwan.
While you officially can also top-up your SIM card in Chunghwa Telecom stores, most cannot or will not deal with prepaid customers (they will tell you to go to a convenience store instead. But some of them are nice enough to write instructions in Chinese so that the convenience store salesperson can help you out).
Here is an instruction video on how to purchase a Chunghwa Telecom top-up vouchers from a 7-Eleven Ibon machine:
Chunghwa Telecom Speed Test Results (in Hualien, Kaohsiung, Luodong, New Taipei City, Taichung, Taipei, Tainan, Taitung, Taoyuan & Yilan)
Alright, now it is time to talk about the speeds you can expect with Chunghwa Telecom after covering all the other essential topics like coverage.
But before I share my test results in Hualien, Kaohsiung, Luodong, New Taipei City, Taichung, Taipei, Tainan, Taitung, Taoyuan & Yilan counties, I want to set the stage first and make a small comparison with Chunghwa Telecom's competition.
The insights I give you are from 2022, while I did the tests back in 2020.
Chunghwa Telecom is regarded by Speedtest as the fastest mobile operator in Taiwan in Q1-Q2 of 2022.
With a median download speed of 71.39 Mbps, Chunghwa Telecom is ahead of Far EasTone (64.48 Mbps), Taiwan Mobile (48.07 Mbps), T Star Taiwan (35.40 Mbps) & GT Mobile Taiwan (18.58 Mbps).
When we look at 5G NR, Chunghwa Telecom is also the fastest.
With a median download speed of 415.45 Mbps, Chunghwa Telecom is faster than Far EasTone (310.83 Mbps), Taiwan Mobile (276.38 Mbps), GT Mobile (264.20 Mbps) & T Star (139.82 Mbps).
As a result, Chunghwa Telecom won the Taiwan Speedtest Fastest Mobile Network Award & Taiwan Speedtest Fastest 5G Mobile Network Award of 2022 (Q1-Q2).
As mentioned earlier, 5G NR is available to prepaid customers too.
However, the validity is limited to 7 days, unlike the 4G/LTE variants, which can be valid for up to 180 days.
Okay, those were valuable insights – let's talk about my speed test results now.
As I said, I did speed tests with the Speedtest app in nine cities/counties, which is way more than most of the testing I did (usually in just one or two cities, lmao).
So I will go county to county, allowing you to just read the results of the city/cities/county/counties you plan on visiting.
For reference, I consider an average download speed of 25 Mbps and an average of 10 Mbps upload speed fast enough.
Preferably, download speeds should be 100 Mbps+ on 4G/LTE… but we are not there yet 🗿.
But why these averages?
A download speed of more than 25 Mbps is enough to video stream content @ 4k resolution.
Social media sites that allow for live streaming, like Facebook Live, recommend an upload speed of at least 10 Mbps.
So, that is why – but that does not mean that a download speed of less than 100 Mbps excited me 😏.
Chunghwa Telecom Speed Test Results in Hualien County (Hualien City & Xincheng Township)
Hualian County (花蓮縣) is the third-smallest county on the mainland and the sixth-smallest county in Taiwan.
While the county has lovely beaches and mountains for exploration or swimming… it is certainly not an exciting place to be 🗿.
Anyway, I stayed in Hualien City and visited a few beaches in Xincheng Township (新城鄉 – but I had to turn back because scary clouds were heading in my direction).
Let's see how Chunghwa Telecom performed in Hualien County:
Chunghwa Telecom Speed Test Results in Kaohsiung City
Kaohsiung City (高雄市) is Taiwan's second-largest city behind New Taipei.
Yes… Taipei is not even the largest – that surprised me too.
Kaohsiung City is the third-largest special municipality in the country.
It is also one of the more exciting cities in Taiwan – there is so much to do, AND it is cheaper than Taipei.
Let's see how Chunghwa Telecom performed in Kaohsiung City:
Chunghwa Telecom Speed Test Results in New Taipei City
New Taipei City (新北市) is Taiwan's largest city and special municipality.
You may wonder why that is not Taipei… and I cannot answer that 🗿.
Often, you will not even know if you are still in Taipei or New Taipei City, so it does not matter anyway.
Let's see how Chunghwa Telecom performed in New Taipei City:
Chunghwa Telecom Speed Test Results in Taichung City
Taichung City (臺中市) is the second-largest special municipality and the third-largest city in Taiwan.
If you translate Taichung, it means Central Taiwan… even though it is in the west 🗿.
Unfortunately, there is no city called West Taiwan (that would be Taixi or something).
Unlike the four most populous cities, you certainly want to use a moped if you want to travel around Taichung because everything is spread out.
Back then, I did not have a driver's license yet… and cycling for 30 minutes from one attraction to another in the sun was no fun 💀.
And before you asked why I did not take the bus, they like to take unnecessary detours in Taichung for some reason.
The new Green Line MRT is a nice addition, but it does not really go to the city center… so yeah 🤷🏿♂️.
Anyway, let's see how Chunghwa Telecom performed in Taichung City:
Chunghwa Telecom Speed Test Results in Tainan City
Tainan City (臺南市) is the smallest special municipality and the sixth-largest city in Taiwan.
Tainan was my base during my one-year stay in Taiwan.
I do not remember why I chose Tainan (it may have been recommended by my boyfriend), but I loved it there.
It is apparently the best city for food, but it is also where old people like to live, according to my young Taiwanese friends.
At least drivers do not try to intentionally hit you when you are on a bike (unlike Hualien City 💀).
Let's see how Chunghwa Telecom performed in Tainan City:
Chunghwa Telecom Speed Test Results in Taipei City
Taipei City (臺北市) is Taiwan's fourth-largest special municipality and city.
Yes… the capital city is not the largest in the country.
Not that that is uncommon… it is just unexpected 🤔.
But Taipei certainly has the most and best attractions in the country.
Let's see how Chunghwa Telecom performed in Taipei City:
Chunghwa Telecom Speed Test Results in Taitung County
Taitung County (臺東縣) is the smallest county on the mainland and the fourth-smallest in Taiwan.
And I am not surprised – there is not much to do in Taitung City besides enjoying the bit of nature it has (Liyushan Park (鯉魚山公園) and Taitung Forest Park (臺東森林公園)).
But I do have to say that The Flowing Lake (台東森林公園活水湖) is stunning.
And with the airport being so close to the city, you will get rudely woken up between 6:00 and 7:00 because fighter jets like to fly around 🤬.
Let's see how Chunghwa Telecom performed in Taitung County:
Chunghwa Telecom Speed Test Results in Taoyuan City
Taoyuan City (桃園市) is the second-smallest special municipality but the fifth-largest city in Taiwan.
And if you think those are reasons enough to visit the city – do not bother; it is boring.
When I told my Taiwanese friends that I would go to Taoyuan, every single one asked why and tried to discourage me.
The only reason one wants to go to Taoyuan is to go to the airport and leave the country – not for fun.
Luckily, I was in Taoyuan for an afternoon only as a break from Taipei to Taichung, but even that afternoon felt like a waste – a boring place 💀.
Let's see how Chunghwa Telecom performed in Taoyuan City:
Chunghwa Telecom Speed Test Results in Yilan County (Luodong Township, Yilan City & Yuanshan Township)
Yilan County (宜蘭縣) is the eighth-largest county in Taiwan.
I stayed in Luodong Township (羅東), which is not bad (but I would not recommend anyone going there unless you are nearby).
Yilan City is not too bad either – but it is far from exciting.
I only stayed in the area because the commute from Hualien to Taipei would take too long in one go (it is much faster nowadays).
Let's see how Chunghwa Telecom performed in Yilan County:
My Overall Experience with Chunghwa Telecom – Is It Any Good?
I would recommend Chunghwa Telecom, and it would be my top recommendation for anyone wanting to buy a Taiwanese SIM card.
Getting a Chunghwa Telecom SIM card was straightforward, and activation was quick.
This applies when you get a Chunghwa Telecom SIM card at the airport or a Chunghwa Telecom store (although it takes a bit longer at stores).
With one of the best 4G/LTE availability and reach, you will have reception almost everywhere in Taiwan (but do not expect any coverage around and in the mountains).
The same can be said about Chunghwa Telecom's 5G NR network, but it is not as extensive as Far EasTone's.
Just like all Taiwanese SIM cards, Chunghwa Telecom offers truly unlimited data-featured prepaid SIM cards to tourists, valid for 3 days to 180 days.
And when I say unlimited data, you can also use your phone as a hotspot (tether – for other phones or laptops) with no restrictions.
With the exception of the 5G Traveler SIM cards – they feature unlimited data too, but hotspot data is restricted to up to 7 GB).
I also had fast speeds with Chunghwa Telecom.
In fact, I had the fastest download speeds with Chunghwa Telecom in Hualien, Kaohsiung, New Taipei City, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei & Taitung (Far EasTone was faster in Taoyuan and Yilan).
When taking all the 101 speed tests into account, I had an average download speed of 100.87 Mbps and a median download speed of 87.40 Mbps with Chunghwa Telecom.
And remember, this was on 4G/LTE only – speeds will be much faster on 5G NR (which I will try out in 2023, so stay tuned!).
The fastest download speed I managed to get with Chunghwa Telecom was at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 1 at the MRT Platform (287.33 Mbps).
At the same location, Far EasTone was significantly faster (438.25 Mbps, which was the fastest download speed I have ever gotten on 4G/LTE until 2022).
But even though Far EasTone was (significantly) faster than Chunghwa Telecom at some locations, Far EasTone would also be (significantly) slower at other places.
And the main pro with Chunghwa Telecom is that it is relatively consistent with its speeds and reception, making it a safe bet regardless of where you plan on going in Taiwan.
With extensive coverage, truly unlimited data plans & blazing-fast speeds, there is nothing crazy to complain about Chunghwa Telecom.
Taiwanese SIM Card Reviews
As mentioned earlier, I also tried out Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone, T Star Taiwan, GT Mobile Taiwan & Ibon Mobile when I was in Taiwan.
You should read those reviews too.
>>> Taiwan Mobile Review | Far EasTone Review | T Star Taiwan Review | GT Mobile Taiwan Review | Ibon Mobile Review <<<
Later, I will make a comparison post of the six Taiwanese SIM cards I tried… but that will take a while (I have many reviews of other countries that I still need to write, so they are prioritized).
But you can still make an educated purchased after reading the Taiwanese SIM card reviews.
Check out my reviews page if you want to read all the other reviews I have written, including other Asian SIM cards.
Taiwan SIM Card Buying Guide
There are five other SIM cards to choose from in Taiwan besides Chunghwa Telecom.
I analyze and discuss them in-depth in my Taiwan SIM card buying guide.