Today’s telecom news includes announcements on FLAG, Ciena WaveLogic, Chunghwa Telecom, APTelecom, among others.
FLAG Deploys 400GbE and 800GbE Services Across ECHO Trans-Pacific Cable
FLAG is deploying Ciena WaveLogic 6 Extreme technology across its dedicated fiber pair on the more than 16,000-km ECHO submarine cable connecting Singapore, Guam and California. The deployment will enable FLAG to offer 400GbE and 800GbE services across the trans-Pacific route using Ciena Waveserver infrastructure and 1.6 Tbps coherent optics. ECHO complements FLAG’s India Asia Express network, creating an integrated high-capacity path linking India, South Asia, Southeast Asia and North America. FLAG operates and controls approximately 80,000 km of subsea and terrestrial cable infrastructure globally. The capacity upgrade targets rapidly increasing traffic from hyperscalers, telecom carriers, content providers and AI infrastructure requiring larger, lower-latency international connections between major data-center hubs.
Chunghwa Telecom Activates $44 Million Taiwan–Matsu Subsea Cable
Chunghwa Telecom has activated the new 300-km Taima No. 4 submarine cable linking Taiwan’s main island with the Matsu Islands. The infrastructure cost approximately NT$1.4 billion ($44 million) and connects New Taipei City with Dongyin, Nangan and Juguang. The additional route raises aggregate transmission capacity between Taiwan and Matsu to 1.9 Tbps while providing redundancy after repeated failures of Taima No. 2 and Taima No. 3. Those earlier systems suffered outages in 2023 and again in 2025. Chunghwa Telecom has also deployed microwave and satellite backup links. The project reflects increasing investment in subsea-network resilience as governments and operators seek multiple independent routes for strategically important island communications.
Thailand Studies New Direct Subsea Cable to United States Thailand’s National Telecom Public Company has appointed APTelecom to conduct a feasibility study for the proposed Thailand–United States submarine cable system, THUS. The study is being financed through a grant from the US Trade and Development Agency and will assess potential routes, project costs, commercial viability, financing structures, regulatory requirements and investment models. Thailand is examining new international capacity because existing Thailand–US cable infrastructure is approaching the end of its operational life. A new direct or strategically routed trans-Pacific system could improve international-network diversity and reduce dependence on existing regional paths. The study represents an early development stage rather than a construction commitment, but could eventually lead to a significant new international backbone linking Thailand’s growing cloud, telecom and data-center ecosystem with North America.
