Six firms to build undersea cable: SingTel
Six international tele- communications carriers, including Bharti Airtel, have agreed to construct an ultra-high-speed submarine cable to carry Internet and other traffic between Japan and the United States.
By PTI |
SINGAPORE: Six international tele- communications carriers, including Bharti Airtel, have agreed to construct an ultra-high-speed submarine cable to carry Internet and other traffic between Japan and the United States, Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) said on Tuesday.
SingTel has joined with Bharti Airtel, Global Transit, Google, KDDI Corp and Pacnet for the USD 300 million project, SingTel said in a news release.
The cable system will link Chikura, Japan, with Los Angeles, a distance of 10,000 kilometres, it said, adding the cable will be ready for service in the first quarter of 2010.
"This new submarine cable network, with its high capacity and resilient transmission infrastructure, will be able to meet the strong demand for data, e-commerce and Internet traffic between Asia and the United States," said Mark Chong, SingTel's executive vice president for networks.
"As it is connected to other cable systems in Asia, it will also provide access to other parts of the region and serve as an important cable diversity route."
Internet service to millions of people across Asia was disrupted in December 2006 after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake that hit Taiwan disturbed several massive offshore submarine cables that link Asian countries with the US and beyond.
Industry observers said the incident showed that the region's cable network is too fragile and overly reliant on connections to the United States.
Dylan Tan, SingTel's corporate communications manager, said the main purpose of the new cable is to expand capacity between Japan and the US, while adding to diversity.
SingTel has joined with Bharti Airtel, Global Transit, Google, KDDI Corp and Pacnet for the USD 300 million project, SingTel said in a news release.
The cable system will link Chikura, Japan, with Los Angeles, a distance of 10,000 kilometres, it said, adding the cable will be ready for service in the first quarter of 2010.
"This new submarine cable network, with its high capacity and resilient transmission infrastructure, will be able to meet the strong demand for data, e-commerce and Internet traffic between Asia and the United States," said Mark Chong, SingTel's executive vice president for networks.
"As it is connected to other cable systems in Asia, it will also provide access to other parts of the region and serve as an important cable diversity route."
Internet service to millions of people across Asia was disrupted in December 2006 after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake that hit Taiwan disturbed several massive offshore submarine cables that link Asian countries with the US and beyond.
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Industry observers said the incident showed that the region's cable network is too fragile and overly reliant on connections to the United States.
Dylan Tan, SingTel's corporate communications manager, said the main purpose of the new cable is to expand capacity between Japan and the US, while adding to diversity.
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