Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation (Keppel T&T) has granted Philippine fibre broadband provider Converge Information & Communications Technology Solutions usage rights for one fibre pair on the main trunk of the Bifrost Cable System.
Keppel T&T’s wholly-owned subsidiary Keppel Midgard Holdings (KMG) signed a binding term sheet with Converge for an Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU) of the fibre pair.
KMH and Converge will also jointly develop a branch on the Bifrost Cable System that will land in Davao, Philippines, with Converge being granted an IRU on the entire Davao branch.
Converge will be engaged as the landing party for the Davao branch segment and will invest over US$100 million ($132.81 million) for the whole project.
Thomas Pang, CEO of Keppel T&T, says that the partnership will enhance inter-connectivity between ASEAN countries.
SEE:Keppel T&T posts 10.6% drop in 4Q earnings to $18.2 mil
“We will be able to accelerate the growth of our connectivity platform, which is in line with Keppel’s Vision 2030, as well as explore synergies with not only Keppel’s data centres, but also Converge’s data centre business,” he adds.
Dennis Anthony Uy, CEO of Converge, says that the fibre pair will allow the Philippines to experience faster internet speeds and greater network resiliency.
“Our investment into one full fibre pair, connecting us to Singapore and the west coast of North America, will allow us to independently activate at will up to 15Tbps of capacity to either country using the latest technology. Furthermore, our ongoing construction of our National backbone spanning the whole country will allow Converge to distribute this capacity from Davao to any point in the Philippine,” he says.
The 15,000km subsea Bifrost Cable System, which is being jointly developed by Keppel T&T, Facebook and Telekom Indonesia, will be the largest capacity high-speed transmission cable across the Pacific Ocean, connectingSingapore to the west coast of North America via Indonesia through the Java Sea and Celebes Sea.
The system is slated for completion in 2024.
Shares in Keppel Corporation closed 7 cents or 1.27% lower at $5.45 on April 20.
