Taiwan, a major semiconductor producer with high internet penetration, faces acute infrastructure vulnerabilities due to its reliance on undersea cables, which have seen a rise in damage incidents since 2023. The island experienced 12 such incidents in 2023 and four cases in two months in 2025, particularly impacting outlying islands like Matsu and Kinmen.
To enhance communications redundancy, Taiwan is operationalizing a multi-orbit satellite architecture, partnering with Eutelsat OneWeb (LEO), SES (MEO), and Astranis (GEO), and AST SpaceMobile for Direct-to-Cell services. However, Taiwan's exclusion from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) prevents it from filing satellite spectrum coordination requests, leaving it without formal recourse for interference and dependent on foreign-filed constellations. This technical exclusion, exacerbated by China's influence within the ITU, creates a strategic sovereignty gap. Taiwan's Beyond-5G (B5G) program aims to develop an indigenous LEO constellation of six satellites by 2027-2028 to establish sovereign spectrum rights, despite industrial and national coordination challenges.
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