SINGTEL has partnered China Telecom Global Limited to co-lead a consortium to build an undersea fibre optic cable system worth US$300 million to support economic growth in South-east Asia.

The consortium includes four other regional carriers: China Telecommunications, Brunei’s Unified National Networks, as well as the Philippines’ Globe Telecom and DITO Telecommunity.

The submarine system, known as the Asia Link Cable System (ALC), will span 6,000 km and connect Singapore and Hong Kong with Brunei, the Philippines, and Hainan, China. It is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2025. 

On Tuesday (Nov 8), Singtel : Z74 0% said it will work with its consortium partners to enhance Internet connectivity and satisfy rising demand for higher-bandwidth solutions in the region. 

Citing an increasing reliance on higher-bandwidth connectivity within South-east Asia, the telco believes the ALC will help to reduce dependency on any single network provider in the consortium as it adopts an open cable system design. It will also enable timely capacity upgrades to meet evolving needs, added Singtel.

The submarine system will thus unlock more opportunities for innovation and enhance digital experiences, said Bill Chang, chief executive of Singtel’s group enterprise and regional data business.

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The project leverages Singtel’s technical expertise in consortium partnerships and submarine cable investments. 

This includes the 19,200 km-long South-east Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 6 submarine cable system, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025.

Shares of Singtel were trading up 0.4 per cent or S$0.01 at S$2.56 as at 11 am.