Network provider RETN has launched a new subsea cable route between Taipei and Hong Kong, increasing its total number of international paths serving Taiwan to six. The move aims to enhance network resilience against recurring cable disruptions and support growing demand for data-intensive applications, including artificial intelligence.
The expansion of subsea cable infrastructure is crucial for supporting the growing demand for data-intensive applications, including AI, and for ensuring the stability of digital connectivity for island economies like Taiwan, which are particularly vulnerable to cable disruptions.
RETN, a global network service provider, has launched a new subsea cable route between Taipei and Hong Kong. This initiative aims to bolster Taiwan's digital infrastructure resilience against frequent underwater cable disruptions and to meet the increasing demand for data-intensive workloads, particularly those associated with artificial intelligence.
The new route is part of RETN's high-capacity network backbone and increases the total number of independent international paths available to customers connecting Taiwan to four routes between Taipei and Hong Kong, and two routes linking Taipei and Tokyo. The company emphasizes that its network design intentionally avoids single points of failure by terminating routes in multiple, geographically separate data centers, utilizing different landing points, terrestrial corridors, and equipment vendors. This strategy is intended to prevent disruptions in one area from cascading across all of a customer's international traffic.
Recent cable failures across Asia, especially around Taiwan, have highlighted the vulnerability of subsea cables, leading to congestion, higher latency, and packet loss on alternative routes. RETN cited its experience during the 2024 Red Sea cable crisis, where it successfully rerouted approximately 60–70% of affected traffic through its TRANSKZ terrestrial network connecting Europe and Asia, as evidence of the value of diverse routing options.
Oswald Huang, RETN's managing director for Taiwan, stated that network operators should plan for at least four independent routes per major geography, preferably five or more, including terrestrial alternatives. He also indicated plans to interconnect with more local data centers to support Taiwan's 'Smart Technology Island' vision.
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