On 07 November 2022, a consortium of telecommunication companies comprising of China Telecom Global Limited (CTG) of China, Globe Telecom Inc (Globe) and DITO Telecommunity Corporation (DITO) of the Philippines, Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel) of Singapore and Unified National Networks Sdn Bhd (UNN) of Brunei Darussalam signed agreements to invest for a submarine cable system in Southeast Asia.
Aimed to boost data capacity in the SEA region and upgrade local capacities, the collective cost of investment for the planned Asia Link Cable (ALC) submarine cable system came to about $300 million USD with UNN investing up to $60 million USD (or, $85 million BND).
The ALC will be approximately 6,000 kilometre in length, connecting Hong Kong SAR China and Singapore as its trunk with branches into Brunei Darussalam, Hainan (China) and the Philippines, and is expected to complete construction by the third quarter of 2025.
Dr Steffen Oehler, Chief Executive Officer at UNN said, “Brunei Darussalam, located on the island of Borneo, is dependent on the reliable connectivity to the world. UNN is investing in the ALC to provide for growing traffic in Brunei Darussalam and the region, and to increase the reliability of international connectivity of the country.”
“As the national infrastructure operator in Brunei, UNN is complementing the submarine connectivity with accelerated fiberization of the access networks, higher broadband speed, and investments in Data Centre infrastructure. Together with the Borneo IX launched in 2021, we are well prepared for the needs of digitization nationally and for multinational customers,” explained Dr Oehler.
The ALC will adopt an open cable system architecture to reduce dependency on any single provider consortium partners and expedite the capacity upgrade process in serving internal and customer requirements. This means, individual members of the consortium could select the best equipment independently from each other depending on their requirements and preferences.
With strategic locations and bullish digital growth prospects in mind, there has been an increased interest to interconnect in the trans-Asian region, enriching the infrastructures for prospective customers. The ALC will help enhance the existing facilities in catering future requirements in the region.
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