Contract to create Asian submarine cable net system

NEC Corp. has signed a multimillion-dollar full turn-key contract with PT. Fangbian Iskan Corporindo (FIC) and Telemedia Pacific Inc. (TPI) to supply the new intra-Asian Submarine Cable Asia Network (SCAN) system. The signing ceremony took place at Surabaya, Indonesia, overseen by the information and communications minister of Indonesia, Mohammad Nuh. The cable system will provide the first direct cable link that connects the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and the second largest city of Surabaya to Hong Kong, where it will be further connected to other cable systems reaching around the globe.

The SCAN system will span 4,300km, with three branching units to support potential future expansion to key ASEAN countries such as Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines. This cable will use the most advanced Dense WDM systems, with an initial capacity of 40Gbit/s transmission speed, upgradeable to 1.92Tbit/s.

As an archipelago, Indonesia's domestic telecommunications rely deeply on submarine cables. The new cable system features direct connections from Indonesia to Hong Kong, and will expand the reach of communications throughout the region.

"Indonesia has a total population of more than 230 million, and our people are steadily progressing into an era of digital transformation. The installation of this new cable system will present greater opportunities to empower the Indonesian people to connect with the global community and further enhance its adoption digital communications," said Linggar Mulyono, president director of PT. FIC.

"The telecommunications landscape and needs of the Southeast Asian region are fast evolving and TPI is pleased to partner with FIC in actively supporting this development," said Hady Hartanto, president of TPI.

"This is the first cable that will link Indonesia directly with Hong Kong, which represents a significant step forward for Indonesian communications," said Akihisa Nakajima, associate senior vice president of NEC.

NEC expects contract-related activity to begin during 1H 09, and the new cable is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011.