Taiwan’s largest telecommunications operator Chunghwa Telecom announced a NT$2.4 billion ($73 million) investment in a new submarine cable project dubbed “AUG,” marking its second major undersea infrastructure commitment this year.
The investment follows the company’s NT$4.6 billion ($140 million) pledge in March for the trans-Pacific “E2A” cable system, bringing total 2025 submarine cable spending to NT$7 billion ($213 million). Chunghwa previously announced the E2A project in March, a 12,500-kilometer system connecting Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and California in partnership with SK Broadband, SoftBank and Verizon, scheduled for completion in 2028.
Chairman Alex Chien has positioned submarine cables as central to his ambitious goal of pushing Chunghwa toward trillion-dollar market valuation through artificial intelligence initiatives. The strategy represents a significant acceleration from the company’s previous pace of one cable investment annually.
Details about AUG’s consortium partners, total investment and connection routes remain undisclosed, with Chunghwa promising an announcement by mid-July according to cable alliance agreements. The timing suggests the company is moving aggressively to capitalize on surging bandwidth demand from AI applications.
Chunghwa previously invested in the SJC2 and Apricot cables, which have already pre-sold over 80% of bandwidth capacity before completion, validating the company’s investment thesis despite initial industry skepticism.
The operator plans seven new submarine cables total plus an additional cable station to strengthen Taiwan’s position as a regional connectivity hub.
