Taiwan Star Telecom absorbed by Taiwan Mobile after NT$12.8B capital reduction

Taiwan Star Telecom started as Federal Telecommunications in 2000 with NT$300 million in capital, was renamed Vibo Telecom in 2003, and launched Taiwan's first 3G mobile services in 2005. It was Taiwan's fourth mobile operator, competing against Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, and Far EasTone in a saturated market of 29 million people.

The company never achieved sustainable profitability. In June 2011, Vibo Telecom reported a net loss, and by November 2011 it was forced to reduce its capital by NT$12.804 billion — a drastic step that acknowledged the accumulated losses far exceeded the company's equity. A five-year NT$5 billion syndicated loan from China Trust Commercial Bank Group provided temporary relief but did not fix the underlying competitive problem.

In 2014, Compal Electronics acquired Vibo through a share swap and renamed it Taiwan Star Telecom. The new name and ownership did not change the trajectory. The company continued to struggle against larger rivals with superior network coverage, greater spectrum holdings, and more marketing budgets. Taiwan Star Telecom had about 2.7 million subscribers at its peak, but many were low-ARPU (average revenue per user) prepaid customers.

On December 30, 2021, Taiwan Mobile announced a merger agreement to acquire Taiwan Star Telecom. The deal required regulatory approvals, which were granted conditionally by the Fair Trade Commission and the National Communications Commission in January 2023. The merger closed on December 1, 2023, absorbing Taiwan Star Telecom into Taiwan Mobile and serving approximately 10 million combined customers. The Taiwan Star brand was retired.