Taiwan, China to build first direct undersea cable

Jan 13, 2011, 16:29 GMT

Taipei - Taiwanese and Chinese telecommunication firms signed an agreement Thursday on building the first direct undersea cable across the Taiwan Strait.

The pact was signed in Taipei by representatives from the top three telecommunication operators from each side - China Unicom, China Telecom, China Mobile, as well as Taiwan's Far Eastone, Taiwan Mobile and Chunghwa Telecom, the Central News Agency (CNA) said.

CNA said the cost of laying the undersea cable is not very high, 'but it carries great significance because it can cut the cost - and improve the quality - of cross-Strait Internet and audio-video transmission which is now conducted through a third country.'

The undersea cable will link Tamsui, a coastal town outside Taipei, with Fuzhou, capital city of China's Fujian Province.

Construction is expected to be finished by the year-end, CNA said.

The project is pending approval from the Taiwan government.

Although Taiwan lifted the ban on building direct cross-Strait undersea cable in 2009, the direct undersea cable is still a sensitive issue in Taiwan.

At a parliament session on January 5, opposition lawmakers blasted Taiwan's plan to build the direct undersea cable with China, citing national security concerns as China could use the cable to monitor Taiwan's phone calls.

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