The exuberance of the brightly lit city! Or should that be "the extravagance of the use of electri-city!"? As energy efficiency becomes increasingly important, Taiwan's advanced information and communication technologies (ICT) industry can bring its expertise to bear to make power use more flexible and rational. (Jimmy Lin)

An understanding of energy effi-ciency will be critical in the 21st century. It is therefore also the century in which Taiwan's strongest industry, information and communication technologies (ICT), will really show what it can do. Through computer "intelligence" and the "linkage/integration" capabilities of the Internet and mobile communications, no matter what the setting-production line, daily life, transportation-energy use can be made more flexible, more efficient, and smarter.

According to the Smart 2020 report produced by the Global e-Sustainability Initiative, the ICT industry has the potential to drive major carbon-emission reductions in other industries, enough to lower total carbon emissions by 15% as of 2020 compared to 2002. Ever-alert Taiwanese ICT firms have already sensed these new commercial opportunities, and in recent years the industry leader-Chunghwa Telecom-has come out with a series of services such as "intelligent transport systems," an "intelligent energy network," and "cloud services," crossing over into other fields to play the role of carbon-reduction wizard. In the future, when relevant legislation and infrastructure are mature, CHT will also stake out territory in that trendiest of areas: smart electrical grids.

Ordinary citizens are already familiar with "intelligent transportation systems." When urban office workers work overtime deep into the night, and there are no more MRT trains, they just need to call a wireless taxi service, and in a couple of minutes their transportation will arrive right on time.

The "intelligence" that Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) injected into this system lies in the following contrast: In the past the drivers would have to stay in contact with the central control center at all times, and passengers would have to put up with the annoying intrusion of constant wireless chatter: "A passenger on such-and-such a street wants to go to such-and-such a place, which vehicle can go? In how many minutes can you be there?" Then several drivers would respond and the control center would have to decide which one to dispatch, all through crackling bursts of chatter.

Now? The control center receives the call from the passenger, then, from a number of red dots appearing on the map on the main monitoring screen, selects the vehicle that is closest to the passenger, and sends a command to the car's built-in mobile communications device. The driver, in turn, needs only press a button to confirm, and the work of dispatching a vehicle is finished.

This integrated system, incorporating the Global Positioning System (GPS), Geographical Information System (GIS), and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), is not only faster and fairer than the old system, it can also keep track of the income assigned by the HQ to each driver and moreover monitor on-screen the route followed by each car, serving both management efficiency and passenger safety at the same time.

This system is also widely applied in bank cash-transport vehicles, police cars, and delivery services. Besides ensuring efficient assignment of vehicles, it can also monitor whether drivers exceed the speed limit, park illegally, or depart from their routes to take care of personal business, thereby permitting more efficient use of fuel as well.