TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom and Fujitsu announced the signing of a memorandum of cooperation to advance research into all-photonics network (APN) technology on Wednesday (Feb. 7).

According to a press release, the two companies signed the memorandum on Jan. 31, per CNA. It calls for two years of cooperation to jointly research APN technology in Taiwan and build high-capacity, low latency networks.

APN is a technology that uses light for data communications and is part of the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN). IOWN is a communication platform for advancing data and information processing technology, and is headed by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT), per its website.

Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Chunghwa Telecom Huang Chih-Hsiung (黃志雄) said Chunghwa was pleased to sign the cooperation memorandum with Fujitsu of Japan, per TechNews. Chunghwa Telecom and Fujitsu will work together to develop an open all-optical network, providing better optical communication quality for applications such as B5G/6G, AI, and cloud computing, he added.

Chunghwa Telecom joined the IOWN Global Forum in March 2020 with Fujitsu, becoming the only telecom company in Taiwan to participate in the initiative.

Founded in 1996, Chunghwa Telecom is one of Taiwan's major telecom companies.