Repairs on the No. 2 submarine telecommunication cable between Taiwan and Lienchiang County (Matsu) have been completed, restoring dual-cable transmission after two cables failed, Chunghwa Telecom Co said in a statement on Friday.
The restoration of the No. 2 cable “ensures more stable telecommunications services for Matsu, with microwave transmission serving as a full-bandwidth backup,” said Chunghwa Telecom, which operates the cables.
Problems have plagued the No. 2 and No. 3 fiber-optic undersea cables between Taiwan proper and the outlying county since late last year.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The Ministry of Digital Affairs has attributed the damage to the cables to “natural deterioration.”
The No. 2 cable sustained partial core fiber breaks on Sept. 22 last year and Jan. 22, Chunghwa Telecom said in the statement.
On Feb. 16, the cable suffered a complete break approximately 30km off New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), it said.
The No. 3 cable was obstructed on Jan. 15, Chunghwa Telecom said at the time.
Communications between Taiwan proper and Lienchiang County was automatically rerouted through a full-bandwidth microwave backup system to ensure uninterrupted service, the company said, adding that it also coordinated with an international submarine cable maintenance organization to dispatch a repair vessel to Taiwan.
After completing repairs to the No. 3 cable on March 2, the repair vessel sailed to waters off Tamsui and off Lienchiang County’s Dongyin Island (東引) to fix the No. 2 cable, it said.
As of Friday morning, repairs at the Tamsui and Dongyin ends of the cables had been completed, restoring dual-cable communications between Taiwan proper and Lienchiang County, the company said.
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