Taiwan has become the lastest market to voice concerns over the use of network equipment from Chinese vendor Huawei, with the regulator—the National Communications Commission—ruling that core network kit may not be cleared for use by Taiwanese operators because of national security worries. Huawei has met with similar objections recently in India and the US.

First International Telecom (Fitel), one of the six WiMAX licensees in Taiwan will start operations in Hsinchu City, northern Taiwan on September 9, followed by Taipei. The operator has set up 40 WiMAX base stations in Hsinchu and will expand the network to 80. In Taipei, Fitel has set up 50 WiMAX base stations.

Vodafone, the world’s largest operator in terms of revenues, struck a deal with Chunghwa Telecom on Thursday, bringing the Big Red brand to the Taiwanese market.

Michael Lai, the charismatic CEO of P1, a 2.3GHz WiMAX operator in Malaysia, is candid about the size of the challenge facing the WiMAX community. “This year is a defining year for WIMAX,” he says. “It’s got to happen and it’s got to happen big.”

Far EasTone, a Taiwanese mobile operator, has said its WiMAX rollout plans are running a year behind schedule. The operator had previously said it was looking for commercial WiMAX launch Q1 2009.