Globe, other Asian telcos investing $300M in submarine cable system

A consortium of telecommunication firms across Asia, including Globe Telecom Inc. and DITO Telecommunity Corp., is investing about $300 million in building a 6,000-kilometer submarine cable system to increase data capacity in the region.

Ayala-led Globe Telecom firm announced the group had inked the agreement for the Asia Link Cable (ALC) project. Other signatories were China Telecom Global Ltd. of China, Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) of Singapore and Unified National Networks Sdn Bhd of Brunei Darussalam.

HMN Technologies Co. Ltd. is expected to finish the construction of the subsea cable system by the third quarter of 2025.

The cable network, which is designed to have a minimum trunk capacity of 18 terabits per second in each fiber pair, will connect Hong Kong SAR China and Singapore to the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam and Hainan, China.

“ALC consortium adopts an open and inclusive principle and will attract more investors in the near future to make it more cost effective, which will reinforce the resilience of interconnectivity in Asia and better serve the digital economy in the region,” said ALC co-chair Chang Weigou of China Telecom.

“Despite the challenges presented by safe management restrictions, we managed to come up with a system that will help meet the evolving needs of consumers and enterprises and boost local economies today and in the near future,” added ALC co-chair Alan Tan of Singtel.

Currently, Globe is also constructing its $150-million Philippine Domestic Submarine Cable Network, which is expected  to be completed by April next year. This is a joint project of Globe with Eastern Communications and digital solutions provider InfiniVAN.

The project, which will have 33 landing points across the country, is expected to “deliver connectivity crucial to the country’s recovery from the pandemic, as it will support government, education, business, and even recreational needs for reliable communication facilities.”