Shipment value of the Taiwanese communications industry is forecast to reach NT$4.96 trillion (US$164.2 billion; US$1=NT$30.2) in 2023, up 8% year-on-year, according to MIC (Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute), a division of III (Institute for Information Industry), a major government think tank, and one of leading IT research institutes in Taiwan. Meanwhile, global communication industry value is estimated to grow 2.2% year-on-year to reach US$758.3 billion in 2023. Taiwan's communication industry is expected to achieve a higher than the global average growth at 8% in 2023. The growth in communications industry is attributed mainly to global network infrastructure construction funds and the return-to-office policy of companies around the world, which are to bolster shipments of last-mile optical fiber networks, enterprise WLAN AP (Wireless Local Area Network Access Point), switches, and smartphones. Global smartphone shipment volume is forecast to return to over 1.3 billion units in 2023, over 60% of which will be 5G smartphones.