Taiwan's undersea communication cable snaps, backup system activated

Taiwan has activated a communications backup after an undersea cable broke in its northernmost territory of the Matsu Islands.

The cable linking Dongyin island to Beigan island was severed, the Central News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Voice and internet services previously carried by the submarine cable have been switched to a microwave backup system to maintain stable communications in Dongyin after the outage.

The Ministry of Digital Affairs said mobile, voice and data services are operating normally.

However, cable TV is currently unavailable due to weather conditions, and some internet services may experience slight delays.

Repairs are expected to be completed by the end of July 2026, depending on sea conditions.

Dongyin has a population of about 1,500.