Foxconn is confirmed as a bidder for a 4G license in Taiwan as it continues to diversify its business

It’s official: Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn has submitted an application for a 4G license in Taiwan, as the Wall Street Journal reports.

This comes after we reported in late May that Foxconn was keen on acquiring a 4G license in the country as part of the company’s “eight-screen-in-one-cloud business strategy”.

Foxconn’s statement comes after Taiwan’s National Communications Commission said late Monday it was reviewing the qualifications of seven applicants, including Ambit Microsystems – a subsidiary of Foxconn, according to the report. The regulator will announce the list of bidders that make the cut by the end of August, before the spectrum auction takes place in September.

Foxconn’s move signals that executives realize the need for diversification and is steering the company toward such a direction. The company, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, is the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer by revenue, and has taken on most major electronics brands as its clients. It is most widely known as Apple’s largest supplier.

However, Foxconn has seen its revenue growth slowing amid a faster-than-expected decline in iPhone orders. In a bid to create more balance, Apple has also been shifting its supply chain to Pegatron.

By moving away from purely manufacturing and aiming to spread its net wider to capture more revenue sources, Foxconn’s natural target has been downstream processes – which occur after the manufacturing of electronics has taken place. Such steps could eventually enable it to get involved in the entire chain of processes and facilitate the sales of its own products.

In May, Foxconn invested $8.7 million for a 28 percent stake in Taifo, a local fiber-optic Internet network service provider. Earlier this month, the company announced an official partnership with Mozilla to develop at least 5 new devices, including a tablet, and subsequently it teamed up with Taiwan Mobile to release a low-cost Android smartphone.

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