Chunghwa Telecom unveils AI, infrastructure strategy

• Taiwanese telco plans to increase investment $4bn Taiwan new dollars with focus on AI
• Chunghwa plans to build distributed AI datacentre infrastructure to support enterprise AI adoption
• Telco strikes satellite MoU with SES, and will boost subsea cable investments in 2026

Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom has unveiled a 2026 plan for major investments in AI platforms, distributed infrastructure, cybersecurity, and satellites and subsea cable systems, as part of its annual financial and strategic guidance.

The operator is planning to boost infrastructure investments by almost $4.1bn Taiwanese new dollars (TWD) (US$130m) to TWD$31.91bn ($1bn) as it looks to help fund new submarine cable systems, including the East-to-Asia (E2A) cable – announced in March 2025 – that will connect California with Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Chunghwa is also boosting its investment in satellite connectivity: Alongside its guidance note, the operator also announced a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Luxembourg-based medium-earth orbit (MEO) satellite operator SES that will see them establish Asia’s first second-generation MEO ground station in Taiwan.

The two parties will also jointly evaluate the establishment of a Satellite Innovation Lab in Taiwan, including the development of demonstration sites and relevant certification mechanisms.

However, it is the focus on investments in AI that could be most significant for Chunghwa. The company named its new strategic vision ‘Igniting the Future with AI’, highlighting the importance of AI to its future plans. 

Part of its strategy will be to invest in the bones that make AI work, including platform architecture, computing capacity and application expansion. Chunghwa plans to leverage its existing network and, alongside this, build a distributed AI datacentre (AIDC) infrastructure to “ensure both resilience and scalability”. In 2024, Chunghwa and NTT activated the world’s first IOWN all-photonics network and now the Taiwanese firm said it will integrate this with AI computing power to advance distributed AI datacentres (AIDC), edge AI, and pre-6G field trial, “establishing a robust foundation for seamless migration to 6G technology by 2030”.

The second part of its AI strategy is to support its business and enterprise customers in their efforts to deploy the technology. To this end, Chunghwa said it will focus on datacentre and cloud services, cybersecurity and smart applications. It will also seek opportunities to develop sovereign AI, hybrid cloud, edge AI and post-quantum cryptography while boosting intelligent connectivity, big data and satellite services.

Chih-Cheng Chien, chairman and CEO of Chunghwa Telecom, emphasised that the company will uphold its corporate values of “integrity, trust, innovation [and] accountability” while implementing its management philosophy of “efficiency, pragmatism and intelligence”.

He stated: “In the AI era, the company will continue serving as both an ‘enabler’ and ‘co-creator,’ helping industries across all sectors [to] complete their dual transformation toward digitalisation and net-zero emissions, enhancing operational synergies, strengthening industrial competitiveness, and balancing technology with nature to drive comprehensive ESG [environmental, social and governance] advancement.”

Alongside the AI plan, Chunghwa also shared its financial forecast for the year. 

The national telco forecasts consolidated revenue of between $242bn and $243.7bn Taiwanese new dollars (US$7.68bn to $7.73bn), representing a rise of between 2.5% and 3.2% on 2025’s recently reported numbers, driven mainly by mobile, broadband, data communications and emerging AI and sustainability-related businesses. It also warned of an expected 3.5% to 3.7% rise in operating costs and infrastructure investment, with income overall expected to be flat.

- James Pearce, Editor, TelecomTV