Singtel consortium appoints Alcatel Submarine to build new subsea cable

A SINGTEL consortium has appointed Alcatel Submarine Networks to build a new international subsea cable system which will strengthen links between Australia and South-east Asia, providing faster connection speed and enhanced reliability.

Aside from Singtel, the other members in the consortium are AarNet, Google, Indosat Ooredoo, SubPartners and Telstra.

When completed, the Indigo cable system will span approximately 9,000km and connect Singapore and Perth, and onwards to Sydney. Landing in existing facilities in Singapore, Australia and Indonesia, the system will also allow connections between Singapore and Jakarta.

The system will use a two-fibre pair "open cable" design with spectrum-sharing technology. This allows consortium members to share ownership of spectrum within the cable, giving them the ability to independently take advantage of technology advancements and future upgrades as required.