Facebook, Google to install undersea cables connecting Southeast Asia to US

Facebook will install two new undersea cables to connect Singapore, Indonesia, and North America in a project with Google and regional telecommunication companies to boost overall subsea capacity between the regions by 70 percent.

Dubbed Echo and Bifrost, the cables would be the first two to go through a new diverse route crossing the Java Sea, said Facebook Vice President of Network Investments, Kevin Salvadori.

The cables, according to Salvadori, will be the first to directly connect North America to some of the main parts of Indonesia and will increase connectivity for the central and eastern provinces of the world’s fourth most populous country.

Salvadori declined to specify the size of the investment, saying it was “ very material" for the company in Southeast Asia.

Echo, set for completion by 2013, is being built in partnership with Google and Indonesian telecom firm XL Axiata.

Meanwhile, Bifrost, which is being done in partnership with Indonesia’s Telin, and Singapore's Keppel is due for completion by 2024.

Facebook plans to deploy 3,000 km of fiber across twenty cities in Indonesia in addition to a previous deal to develop public Wi-Fi hot spots.

Facebook was also continuing with its subsea plans in Asia and globally, including with the 12,800 km Pacific Light Cable Network (PLCN), which is partly funded by Google.

The PLCN, which originally intended to link the US, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines, had met US government resistance due to concerns about putting up direct communication links between the US and Hong Kong.

Facebook said earlier this month it would drop efforts to connect the cable between California and Hong Kong.