Xiyu Township, Taiwan

Xiyu Township: Submarine Cable Landing Point

Xiyu Township is a rural township in Penghu County, Taiwan, situated within the Penghu archipelago off the western coast of Taiwan's main island. As a landing point for submarine cable infrastructure, Xiyu Township connects the outlying islands of Taiwan to the broader domestic telecommunications network. One submarine cable lands here, providing a direct undersea link within the Taiwan island group.

The single cable landing at Xiyu Township is the Taiwan Penghu Kinmen Matsu No.3 (TPKM3), a domestic cable whose endpoints are entirely within Taiwan. This configuration positions Xiyu Township as a node within an intra-Taiwan connectivity corridor, linking the Penghu island chain to other points across Taiwan's island territories rather than serving intercontinental or inter-regional traffic. The cable's domestic character reflects the particular geographic challenge of connecting Taiwan's outlying island groups to the main island through dedicated undersea infrastructure.

Cables Landing at Xiyu Township

Taiwan Penghu Kinmen Matsu No.3 (TPKM3) is a 510-kilometre submarine cable that reached ready-for-service (RFS) status in 2013 and carries a draft designation. All endpoints on this cable are within Taiwan, making it a purely domestic system. With a total length of 510 km, it is designed to serve the connectivity needs of Taiwan's outlying island groups, including Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu, linking them within a single national cable system. Xiyu Township, located in Penghu County, serves as one of the landing points along this route.

Regional Context

Among Taiwan's 21 submarine cable landing points, Xiyu Township hosts one cable, placing it in the top 62% of landing points in the country by cable count. Within Taiwan, major landing hubs such as Toucheng (9 cables) and Tanshui (8 cables) handle significantly higher cable volumes, while Dongyin (3 cables) and Dawu, Fangshan, and Huxi Township (each with 2 cables) sit between those larger hubs and single-cable points like Xiyu Township. Huxi Township, also located in Penghu County, represents a close peer as another Penghu-based landing point.

Network Role

Xiyu Township functions as a single-cable terminus within Taiwan's domestic submarine cable network. Its sole cable, TPKM3, connects Taiwan's outlying island territories in an intra-national corridor, ensuring that the Penghu archipelago—where Xiyu Township is located—maintains a dedicated undersea link to the broader Taiwan network. This role is distinct from the intercontinental or regional international cables that land at Taiwan's busier points.

In the broader submarine cable graph of Taiwan, Xiyu Township represents the category of specialised domestic landing points whose purpose is island-group connectivity rather than international traffic aggregation. Its presence in the network illustrates how Taiwan's submarine cable infrastructure extends beyond its main island to serve the communications needs of geographically dispersed outlying territories.