Telin and BW Digital are partnering on a subsea cable connecting Singapore to Indonesia’s Batam.

The two companies have formed a strategic partnership to develop and construct the Nongsa-Changi submarine cable system linking Batam and Singapore.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the joint venture was signed during the recent International Telecoms Week 2024 event in US capital Washington DC.

The 50km Nongsa-Changi cable system will comprise a minimum of 24 fiber pairs between Changi in East Singapore and the Nongsa Digital Park in Batam. The system is projected to be ready for service in Q4 2025.

Batam is the largest city in the Riau Islands and is located close to Singapore, on the opposite side of the Singapore Strait. Though easing, Singapore’s ongoing data center moratorium means developments are spilling over to nearby Johor north of the border in Malaysia, and south to Batam.

“We are proud to continue our successful partnership with BW Digital, as we work together to develop Indonesia’s digital industry at Nongsa Digital Park and establish the Hawaiki Nui 1 submarine cable system," said Budi Satria Dharma Purba, Telin CEO. "Extending our collaboration with BW Digital to connect Indonesia and Singapore through the ICE Cable System I Leg 2 further enhances DC-to-DC connectivity, reinforcing Telin’s dedication to delivering cutting-edge solutions for our customers."

Ludovic Hutier, BW Digital CEO, said his was company was "pleased" to expand its partnership with Telin. “The Nongsa-Changi cable represents a key component of the digital ecosystem we are building in Nongsa Digital Park," Hutier said. "With a landing at the doorstep of the data center campus, it will provide data center operators with fully diverse and secured connectivity, and enable them to further address the spill-over demand from Singapore.”

Batam and Singapore are currently connected by the BSCS, B2JS, B3JS, IGG, Matrix, MIC-1, PGASCOM, SEAX-1, and TIS cables. The upcoming Apricot, Asia Connect Cable-1 (ACC-1), and Hawaiki Nui 1 systems are all also set to connect the city-state with the Indonesian city.

Nongsa Park, developed by Citramas Group, has been granted special economic zone (SEZ) status, which provides beneficial tax tariffs. Singtel, Gaw, PDG, BW Digital, and GDS are developing facilities in Nongsa Park.

Telin is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Telkom Indonesia, with the two companies operating data centers in both Batam and Singapore.

Telin recently partnered with Singtel on a separate Singapore-Batam subsea cable, known as INSICA (Indonesia Singapore Cable System), which will land on the west of the city-state. Singtel, which operates a number of data centers in Singapore, is also partnering with Telkom for a data center in Batam.

Together with BW Digital, it is working on a portion of the 10,000km Hawaiki Nui 1 cable linking Australia, Indonesia, and Singapore and part of the wider 26,000km system continuing to the US.

BW Digital owns and operates the Hawaiki subsea cable linking New Zealand and Australia to the US. The system was launched in 2018 by Hawaiki, which was acquired by BW Digital in May 2022. The company announced plans to develop an 80MW data center in Batam, Indonesia, earlier this year.