The first subsea cable directly connecting Taiwan to mainland China has commenced operation after getting the go-ahead from regulators.
Taiwan's National Communications Commission approved the commercial launch of the cable on Friday, AFPreported. Chinese regulators have already signed off on the cable.
The 220km TSE-1 cable links northern Taiwan's Tamishui with southeast China's Fuzhou city. It has a design capacity of 6.4 Tbps.
The project is a joint initiative of Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Telecom and FarEasTone in Taiwan, and mainland operators China Unicom and China Mobile. Construction of the NT$1 billion ($34 million) cable was approved in September 2011.
It will be the first approved direct link between Taiwan and the mainland. Relations between China and Taiwan have been improving since Beijing-friendly president Ma Ying-jeou took power in Taiwan in 2008, and as a result, demand for cross-strait bandwidth is surging.
Upcoming 4G rollouts in both markets will also contribute to the demand. Taiwan recently concluded a protracted 4G auction, where total bids climbed to NT$118.65 billion ($4 billion), nearly four times the floor price.