Covering Disruptive Technology Powering Business in The Digital Age

Singtel and PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin) have announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a new submarine cable system connecting Singapore and Batam, Indonesia, under the newly formed INSICA (Indonesia Singapore Cable System) Consortium.

Ooi Seng Keat, Vice President of Digital Infrastructure and Services at Singtel, stated, “Batam is emerging as a prime location for data centres due to its close proximity to Singapore. With this cable system, we’ll be able to enhance the connectivity between the countries to support the intensive, higher power density AI (Artificial Intelligence) workloads of enterprises and cloud companies.”

Keat added: “The development of the INSICA cable system is yet another step that we’re taking in architecting a hyper-connected, digital ecosystem to serve the long-term demands of the region’s digital future and boost the regional economy.”

Telin and Singtel Will Boost Data Centre Telecommunications

When operational in the fourth quarter of 2026, the 100-km INSICA cable system will support the surge in data centre telecommunications traffic between Singapore and Batam. INSICA will feature a 24-fibre pair subsea cable and two diverse terrestrial cable paths, offering a maximum capacity of up to 20 terabits per second per fibre pair.

This system that will be built by Singtel and Telin will deliver exceptional bandwidth, seamless connectivity and robust network security and enable efficient resource sharing and scalability. The new diverse link provided by INSICA will enhance network protection and reliability, ensuring uninterrupted 24/7 operations for data centres.

Budi Satria Dharma Purba, Chief Executive Officer at Telin, added, “The global submarine cable market is poised for unprecedented growth over the next decade, positioning Batam and Singapore as prime locations for data centre investments. The INSICA submarine cable will address the critical need for data centre interconnectivity among these key strategic locations.”

The direct connectivity between data centres will also support the deployment of emerging technologies, such as the Internet of Things, robotics, AI and data analytics, all of which require high bandwidth and low latency for commercial-scale and real-time applications.

Southeast Asia’s data centre sector is experiencing rapid growth, driven by advances in AI, cloud computing, e-commerce, IoT, edge computing, and 5G. This growth is attracting a wave of investment from both established players and new entrants.

(0)(0)