China: plans for an undersea cable to link China with Chinese Taipei

[DIGITIMES] Two telecom carriers - one from Taiwan and one from China - plan to cooperate to build an undersea cable linking the two countries.

Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) said it plans to work with China Telecom to build a 50-60km undersea cable, with the companies equally splitting the construction cost estimated at up to 100 million yuan (US$14.7 million).

The cable will link Taiwan's Kinmen island and Xiamen, a big city in China's southeastern coast, mainly for data communications, according to CHT. Kinmen is much closer to the Chinese mainland than to Taiwan per se.

CHT said it has submitted the project to the Taiwan government for approval, and if approved, the cable can be launched into operation as early as 2010.

Telecom carriers planning submarine cable linking Taiwan and China