Telkom Indonesia’s international arm Telin announced on Monday that it is partnering with BW Digital to build a subsea cable between Singapore and Indonesia to support demand for data centre traffic, just six weeks after revealing a similar project with Singtel.
Under an MoU signed during the International Telecoms Week 2024 in Washington DC, Telin and BW Digital will develop and construct the Nongsa-Changi subsea cable system across the Singapore Strait, linking data centres in Batam and Changi. No financial details were disclosed.
The 50-km cable will be designed with a minimum of 24 fibre pairs, which Telin says will be crucial for supporting data-intensive digital services, DC-to-DC connectivity and high-density AI applications.
Telin CEO Budi Satria Dharma Purba said the Nongsa-Changi cable is part of the company’s Indonesian Cable Express (ICE) programme, first revealed in September 2023, which ultimately aims to build seven separate cable systems connecting Indonesia to all potential markets over five years.
The first ICE project aims to connect Malaysia, Singapore and Batam. In February, Telin formed a consortium with Telecom Egypt and e& Carrier & Wholesale Services to develop the ICE IV Project that aims to interconnect Indonesia and Singapore to India, Oman, Egypt, and the UAE.
The Nongsa-Changi news also follows last month’s move by Telin and Singtel to form a consortium to develop the Indonesia Singapore Cable System (INSICA), which will also link data centres in Singapore and Indonesia with 24 fibre pairs.
The 100-km INSICA cable takes a different route to Batam, with the Singapore end landing in Tuas on the southwest coast of the island, while the Batam landing point is in Tanjung Bemban. The Nongsa-Changi cable – as the name implies – has landing points at Nongsa Digital Park (NDP) in Batam and Changi on Singapore’s northeast coast (next to Changi Airport).
“The Nongsa-Changi cable represents a key component of the digital ecosystem we are building in NDP,” said BW Digital CEO Ludovic Hutier in a joint statement. “With a landing at the doorstep of the data centre campus, it will provide DC operators with fully diverse and secured connectivity, and enable them to further address the spillover demand from Singapore.”
The Nongsa-Changi cable is projected to be ready for service in the fourth quarter of 2025. The INSICA cable is planned to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The Nongsa-Changi cable is also Telin’s second tie-up in as many months with BW Digital. In May, both companies signed an MoU to develop and build the Hawaiki Nui 1 subsea cable system, which will link Australia, Indonesia and Singapore, with optional branches to the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste.
