Facebook, Google team up to have new undersea cables to connect Southeast Asia and America

In a bid to bolster internet connection capacity between Southeast Asia and America, Facebook partnered with Google for a project that will produce two new undersea cables to connect countries like Singapore, Indonesia and North America.

Kevin Salvadori, Facebook Vice President of Network Investments confirmed the development and said the two cables, named Echo and Bifrost, will increase overall subsea capacity by around 70% in the trans-pacific.

Salvadori furthered that the cables 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. He specified that the “Echo” project is being built in partnership with Alphabet’s Google and Indonesian telecommunications firm XL Axiata and is expected to be completed by 2023. Meanwhile, the Bifrost project is being built in partnership with Telin (a subsidiary of Telkom) and Singaporean firm Keppel and is expected to be completed by 2024.

The two cables, which will require regulatory approval, are in addition to previous investments by Facebook to improve connectivity in Indonesia, one of its top five markets worldwide.