TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Digital Affairs said Tuesday that two undersea cables connecting Taiwan and the outlying Matsu Islands have been disconnected due to “natural degradation.”
Chunghwa Telecom said Tuesday the Taiwan-Matsu No. 3 cable was “completely disconnected” on the afternoon of Jan. 15, while the Taiwan-Matsu No. 2 cable was found to be disconnected at 5 a.m., Tuesday morning, per CNA. Communication traffic has been rerouted to microwave circuits.
At 11 a.m., Minister of Digital Affairs Huang Yen-nun (黃彥男) held an emergency press conference to address the undersea cable disruptions.
Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Chiueh Herming (闕河鳴) said that after Chunghwa Telecom reported the undersea cable disruption the ministry requested microwave backup, completing the necessary procedures within an hour. The current microwave bandwidth has reached 12.6 Gbps, exceeding Matsu's weekday peak traffic of 9.5 Gbps, ensuring no impact on communications.
However, bandwidth will be prioritized for key infrastructure services such as government, banks, and hospitals to ensure the public's vital services are uninterrupted. During the Lunar New Year holiday, residents will still be able to withdraw cash via ATMs, and credit card and online transactions will continue without interruption, said Chiueh.
Chiueh said MODA has nine asynchronous satellite devices for Matsu, including eight low Earth orbit satellite devices and one medium Earth orbit satellite device. These satellites are also being used as microwave backup channels for use by the Lienchiang County government and command system.
Chiueh said there have been four incidents of domestic undersea cable disruptions this month, compared to three in 2024 and three in 2023.