Singapore aspires to be top subsea cable hub in the region
Experts talk subsea cables at ITW Asia 2024.
Did you know: It's cheaper to lay subsea cables in the deep sea than in shallower waters? Counterintuitive, I know, but true.
I gained loads of new knowledge about the (deep) world of subsea cables over at ITW Asia 2024 earlier today.
Subsea cable trivia
What are some challenges and opportunities in subsea cables, the vital digital lifelines that ferry the bulk of the Internet's traffic?
So why is it cheaper to build subsea cables in deep waters?
- Shallow waters have lots more shipping, fishing boats.
- Which means cables there must be armoured.
- This increases cost of cable and deployment.
Still, expect accidental cable cuts to increase as we continue to crisscross the oceans with new high-capacity subsea cables.
From Indonesia to Singapore
There is an opportunity for Indonesia to become an important route to the United States, as an alternative to routes that go through or skirt the South China Sea.
This was shared by Budi Satria Dharma Purba of Telin, who spoke about the Indonesian Cable Express (ICE) programme, which aims to enhance connectivity across APAC.
Already, Telin is involved in two subsea cables between Batam and Singapore:
- Indonesia Singapore Cable System (INSICA).
- Nongsa-Changi Cable.
What about Johor?
And trust someone from the audience to ask about the implications of the rapid growth of data centres in Johor on future subsea routes - it wasn't me!
Will the meteoric rise of data centres in Johor alter the connectivity dynamics in the region? This won't happen overnight.
There will continue to be a dependency on Singapore, though a subsea ecosystem will develop around Malaysia over time, says Vish Vishwanathan of Telstra.
Singapore, subsea cable hub
It's worth noting that Singapore plans to double its cable landing stations over the next decade to maintain its relevance.
And Singapore is already a regional connectivity powerhouse with 26 subsea cables landing here as of last year - and with several more being built. So, it's not staying still!
