The Ministry of Digital Affairs(moda) said today(28th) that the grant for the "Contingency or Wartime Application of Emerging Technologies to Enhance the Digital Resilience of Communication Networks Validation Project" was accepted on the 26th, and several organizations have submitted their applications. After the scoring, a grant contract will be signed with the applicants with the highest score. The relevant examination is expected to be completed by the end of May at the earliest, and the results will be announced to the public then.

As for the concern of national security issues such as Chinese capital, the moda reiterated that the annex to the announcement has specified that the satellite communication system used by the applicant shall not have a Chinese background and the satellite communication equipment shall not be of Chinese brand; in addition, the moda has also included the satellite system selected by the grant recipient in the examination focus on the national security considerations of the relevant agencies.

According to the moda, the subsidized units should build 11 satellite terminal equipment sites (hot spot) and 5 base station backhaul sites (backhaul) by November this year, a total of 16 satellite receiving sites, especially in the outlying areas; to verify the basic satellite system transmission rate and real-time communication services (such as video conferencing, voice calls, live streaming). 

The Ministry pointed out that by February next year (2024), 10 more satellite terminal equipment stations and 4 more base station backhaul links will be built, and one satellite terminal equipment station will be set up abroad to verify that under extreme conditions, if the international submarine cable is completely disconnected, people in Taiwan can still communicate domestically and internationally through the non-synchronous orbital satellite system.

The Ministry of Digital Affairs emphasizes that the ultimate goal of this project is to set up 700 satellite terminal equipment sites, 70 base station backhaul links and 3 satellite terminal equipment sites abroad by the end of next year, so as to extend the resilience of the communication network from ground mobile network base stations and submarine cables to satellite communications in the air, and to strengthen the digital resilience of our communication network through a three-dimensional heterogeneous communication network on land, sea and air.