TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Chunghwa Telecom Co. announced on Sunday (Oct. 13) that Taiwan will soon have 24-hour access to a backup internet system in the event of an attack by China.
Chunghwa Telecom Co-President Alex Chien (簡志誠) said that UK company Eutelsat OneWeb is expected to provide full 24-hour coverage across Taiwan by the end of October, per TechNews. Once sufficient bandwidth is available, commercial promotion can begin, with Taiwanese businesses and multinational corporations showing optimism about the potential of backup services, according to Chien.
Initially, Chien said there were some issues with the ground station in Thailand, but those have since been resolved. Taiwan will achieve 24-hour coverage through ground stations located in Japan, Guam, and Thailand by the end of the month, he added.
Chien explained that the Ministry of Digital Affairs plans to establish 700 ground-receiving stations domestically, which are expected to be completed by the end of the year. User terminals for the ground stations have already been installed and are operational.
Regarding the timeline for commercial applications, Chien said that once 24-hour coverage and the 700 ground-receiving stations are in place, commercial applications could be launched, provided there is sufficient bandwidth. Initially, the focus will be on enterprise customers, but since satellite bandwidth is limited, most companies will continue to rely on undersea cables for their primary connectivity.
Chien predicted that enterprise customers are likely to use these services for backup purposes, opening up future opportunities for Taiwanese businesses and multinational corporations.
He also noted that the National Science and Technology Council plans to launch Taiwan's first B5G low Earth communication satellite by 2027. Chunghwa Telecom will cooperate with the government on this initiative, Chien pledged.
B5G low Earth communication satellites are primarily used to address gaps in B5G communications. Taiwan’s fiber optic penetration rate has reached 85% to 86%, with 4G and 5G base stations covering 98% to 99% of the population. Areas not yet covered can be supplemented with satellite technology in the future, Chien said.
Following the severing of two Taiwan-Matsu submarine cables in February 2023, Taiwan’s government accelerated efforts to set up a backup network in case of a Chinese attack. In September 2022, Taiwan announced plans to develop a satellite network similar to Starlink as a backup in case China attempts to take the country offline.
Talks with SpaceX began as early as 2019 to implement its Starlink network in Taiwan. However, negotiations came to a standstill in 2022 when Elon Musk reportedly requested that Taiwan change its laws to allow SpaceX 100% ownership of Starlink operations in Taiwan, which conflicts with Taiwan's requirement that local firms hold a 51% majority in joint ventures.
Instead, Taiwan began coordinating with other companies to install non-geostationary orbit equipment at domestic and international locations to conduct testing. In 2023, Chunghwa Telecom signed an exclusive agency agreement with OneWeb to enhance signal resilience using its low Earth orbit satellites.
Additionally, Chien said Chunghwa Telecom signed an exclusive partnership with Luxembourg-based SES for medium Earth orbit satellite services in Taiwan. He said the company aims to build a resilient and secure network incorporating undersea cables, land cables, 5G, 6G, microwave, low Earth orbit, medium Earth orbit, and geostationary satellites.