Chunghwa Telecom has activated a microwave backup system to maintain communications between Taiwan proper and Lienchiang County (Matsu) after a submarine cable linking the areas was disconnected on Sunday, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday.
Communications between Taiwan and Matsu are mainly maintained through two submarine cables: Taima No. 2 (台馬二號) and Taima No. 3 (台馬三號).
Last month, communications were slightly disrupted after Taima No. 3 and part of Taima No. 2 were disconnected due to natural deterioration.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Power Co
However, the nation’s largest telecom on Sunday informed the National Communications and Cyber Security Center that Taima No. 2, installed off New Taipei City, was completely disconnected, the ministry said, adding that the cause of the disconnection had yet to be determined.
The telecom has also notified the Coast Guard Administration and requested its assistance in its investigation into whether the submarine cable was deliberately disconnected, it said.
Chunghwa Telecom has been asked to activate its microwave backup system, through which voice and data communications between Taiwan and Matsu can be maintained, it said.
The microwave backup system can transmit data at 12.5 gigabits per second (Gbps), higher than the 9.5Gbps required during peak traffic on weekdays.
The telecom has also told the submarine cable laying ship that has arrived at the Port of Kaohsiung to repair the Taima No. 3 cable to start repairs on Taima No. 2 once the No. 3 line is operational, the ministry said.
Taima No. 3 and Taima No. 2 should be fixed by the end of this month and next month respectively if weather permits, the Chunghwa Telecom said.
Priority access to the microwave backup system would be given to government agencies, banks and hospitals to ensure that Matsu residents can perform daily tasks while submarine cables are being fixed, such as online transactions and cash withdrawals from automated teller machines, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Digital Affairs has subsidized Chunghwa Telecom to build a fourth submarine cable, which is expected to be completed in June next year.
Seven of the 17 NT$10 million (US$311,604) winning receipts from the November-December uniform invoice lottery remain unclaimed as of today, the Ministry of Finance said, urging winners to redeem their prizes by May 5. The reminder comes ahead of the release of the winning numbers for the January-February lottery tomorrow. Among the unclaimed receipts was one for a NT$173 phone bill in Keelung, while others were for a NT$5,913 purchase at Costco in Taipei's Neihu District (內湖), a NT$49 purchase at a FamilyMart in New Taipei City's Tamsui District (淡水), and a NT$500 purchase at a tea shop in New Taipei City's
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
Deliveries of delayed F-16V jets are expected to begin in September, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said today, after senior defense officials visited the US last week. The US in 2019 approved a US$8 billion sale of Lockheed Martin F-16 jets to Taiwan, a deal that would take the nation’s F-16 fleet to more than 200 jets, but the project has been hit by issues including software problems. Koo appeared today before a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which is discussing different versions of the special defense budget this week. The committee is questioning officials today,
TALENT SCOUTING: The university is investing substantial funds in its future to bring in the kind of researchers that would keep the college internationally competitive National Taiwan University (NTU) plans to invest NT$2 billion (US$62.6 million) to launch two programs aimed at attracting and retaining top research talent, university president Chen Wen-chang (陳文章) said yesterday. The funding would support the “Palm Grove Scholars Project,” which targets academics aged 40 to 55. Up to 20 scholars would be selected, each receiving as much as NT$10 million annually, Chen said. The initiative is designed to attract leading researchers to Taiwan and strengthen NTU’s global competitiveness by fostering a more research-friendly environment and expanding international collaboration, he said. NTU is also introducing a “Hong Hu” chair grant, which would provide Palm
RSS