Chunghwa Telecom Co. is spearheading a NT$46 billion ($1.5 billion) transpacific submarine cable project with telecom operators from South Korea, Japan and the United States, positioning Taiwan as a strategic hub for Asia’s growing AI infrastructure needs.
The project, named E2A, will span approximately 12,500 kilometers across the Pacific Ocean connecting Taiwan’s Toucheng with South Korea’s Busan, Japan’s Chiba Prefecture, and California’s Morro Bay. The cable is scheduled to begin operations in the second half of 2028.
Chunghwa’s partners include SK Broadband, SoftBank, and Verizon. The investment underscores the critical importance of submarine infrastructure, which carries more than 90% of international internet traffic.
Taiwan’s largest telecom operator has invested in over 30 international submarine cables throughout its history, with 14 currently connecting the island to global networks. Two additional cables, the Southeast Asia-Japan Cable 2 (SJC2) and Apricot, are nearing completion.
Chunghwa Chairman Chih-Cheng Chien said the company is building network resilience through a combination of submarine cables, fiber, mobile communications, and satellite technologies to attract international businesses to Taiwan while supporting the growing demands of AI and cloud computing services.
