Facebook, Keppel, Telkom Indonesia to Develop 15,000KM Pacific Ocean Cable System

   Ben Otto 
 

Facebook Inc., Keppel Corp. and Telkom Indonesia will develop a 15,000-kilometer subsea cable system connecting Southeast Asia with North America to meet surging demand for high-speed connectivity and greater bandwidth across the Asia-Pacific region.

Units of the three companies will jointly own and develop the Bifrost Cable System connecting Singapore to the west coast of North America via Indonesia, the Philippines and Guam. When completed in 2024, the system will be the largest-capacity high-speed transmission cable across the Pacific Ocean, they said.

The companies have appointed France-based Alcatel Submarine Networks to supply and install the cable system.

Keppel's share of the projects costs will be US$350 million, the Singapore-based conglomerate said.

"This will be a transnational critical infrastructure which will enhance Singapore's role as a digital hub, as well as support and accelerate the region's growing digital connectivity needs," said Thomas Pang, chief executive of Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation.

Southeast Asia is home to more than 650 million people in countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines whose economies are among the fastest growing developing economies in the world.

Write to Ben Otto at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 29, 2021 01:24 ET (05:24 GMT)

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